Maha: Six hospitals empanelled to provide cashless treatment to ex-servicemen

Nagpur: Six hospitals in Maharashtra are to be empanelled with the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), enabling the provision of cashless medical treatment to veterans as per a recent order by the Defence Ministry.  

The scheme, which was launched by the Ministry of Defence, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare provides cashless medical treatment to ex-servicemen. 

Also Read:Nagpur doctor held for allegedly selling newborn girl

A statement released by MoD, Nagpur said, "This noble initiative by HCO's will not only addresses the healthcare needs of our ESM but also recognizes their sacrifices and unwavering commitment to our nation." 

Further, it said, "The approval by MoD is subject to these hospitals signing MoA along with PBG with Regional Centre, ECHS (RC ECHS) Nagpur after which the referral /treatment can be commenced. Also talks are on with other reputed hospitals for extending their services to ECHS members. Interested HCOs can mail to RC ECHS at dirrcnagpur@echs.gov.in which will facilitate them on the guidelines." 

As per a media report in the Governance Now, the six hospitals are Punjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College Hospital & Research Centre at Amravati, Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital at Wardha, National Cancer Institute, Shri Bhavani Multispeciality Hospital & Research Institute, Lotus Hospital and Research Centre and Oke Eye Hospital at Nagpur. 

Ex-servicemen often from Wardha and Amravati often had to travel to Nagpur to access this facility, which would now be preventable due to the empanellement of healthcare organisations in the two regions.  

A few months back, the Medical Dialogues team reported about the establishment of veterans hospitals in eight prominent cities using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds through a partnership between private entities and the government. The eight cities are Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Ambala, Chennai, Jalandhar, Bareilly and Dehradun.

Also Read:Veterans hospital to come up in Bengaluru among 8 cities using CSR funds