Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar announced on Friday that a ‘no denial’ policy will be made compulsory at private hospitals to ensure that patients are not refused emergency care. A health response tracker will be introduced to monitor how patients are treated, and a dedicated helpline for pregnant women and a rapid response team are also in the pipeline, he added.
Pawar made the announcements after the groundbreaking ceremony for a new 10-storey building of the family welfare bureau and training centre in Pune. He also dedicated 43 new dispensaries, called ‘Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana’, to the public. Most of the dispensaries are located across slum areas in the city.
Pawar also spoke about the death of Tanisha Bhise, a pregnant woman allegedly denied treatment at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital. Bhise’s family and BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe have alleged that the hospital authorities refused to admit her due to nonpayment of an advance deposit of Rs 10 lakh. Bhise delivered twins at Surya Hospital in Wakad on March 29 and died at Manipal Hospital, Baner, two days later.
“The government has taken this incident very seriously, and reports of high-powered committees set up to investigate the matter have come in. Strict action will be taken in this case. The government is taking steps to strengthen regulations that govern private hospitals so that no patient in need of medical services is turned away,” he said.
The government provides land and floor space index (FSI) to charitable trust hospitals, and beds have to be reserved for the poor as per the regulations, Pawar said, adding that failure to do so will not be tolerated.