AP Government leasing out Hospitals to Corporates: APCC shows concern

Vijaywada: The Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee has raised voice against the leasing of government hospitals to big corporates in the medical industry. Showing opposition towards the leasing, the APCC alleged that this will only convert the government hospitals into referral centres of the Corporate Giants.

Raising fears of government hospitals becoming referral centres for the connected private hospitals, Ambati Radhakrishna, Cell co-chairman of PCC told The Hindu that the committee would not allow any such leasing of government hospitals to private leaders anymore.

He also added, “If the Government does not put aside the proposal the doctors’ cell would be forced to explore means of obstructing it within the framework of the Constitution.”

Dr. Radhakrishna had earlier stated that corporate hospitals “attached” to government hospitals to improve services, would cause serious implications such as creating hustle among poor patients. He said, leasing was a new and dangerous trend, which would result in healthcare slowly going out of the reach of poor patients. There was every danger of government hospitals on lease becoming “referral centres” for the corporate hospitals.

He termed it as a long term conspiracy focusing on slowly privatizing health care sector which was already becoming a big burden to the exchequer.On the alongside of the word Conspiracy, he also suggested that the jobs of those working in these hospitals are at risk, which is another factor for opposing the government hospital lease move.

“Beginning with the contract workers, those who had been working in these hospitals for a long time would face the risk of losing their livelihood", he mentioned.

An example for the leasing agreement , the Andhra Pradesh government has already leased a 300-bedded government hospital at Chittoor to the Apollo Group of hospitals for a period of three years that will be utilized for teaching medicos under its medical college in the district headquarters.

It is also expected that more hospitals in the state will be leased under same contract by the state government as implicated by state Health Minister, Kamineni Srinivas, earlier in a statement at Chittoor.