Haryana: COVID-19 treatment rates in private hospitals to be fixed soon

Chandigarh - The Haryana government will soon issue an order fixing the cost of COVID-19 treatment in private hospitals, Health Minister Anil Vij said on Tuesday.

Vij said that he had discussed the modalities with senior officials of his department and a formal order would be issued soon.

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"For private hospitals, we are going to fix the rates. I have discussed this with my officials and orders will be issued soon," Vij told over phone.

He said that the government would fix charges of isolation beds in private hospitals, ICU beds without ventilator, ICU beds with ventilator, and medicines to be administered.

Vij said that while treatment is free in government facilities in the state, the government wants to make sure that treatment is affordable even for those who opt for private hospitals.

On June 19, the state government had issued directions that private laboratories should not charge more than Rs 2,400 for RT-PCR test for COVID-19, inclusive of GST and other taxes.

Vij said that to ramp up testing, the Haryana government on Monday gave orders to procure one lakh antigen-based testing kits with approval of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

The scale of testing will significantly go up using these kits, which quickly put out results, he said.

On the rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Haryana this month, Vij said that they were expecting infections to rise once borders were opened and more relaxations given leading to free movement of people. Haryana has over 11,000 cases with 169 fatalities.

Gurgaon and Faridabad districts, which fall in the National Capital Region, are the worst hit with the highest number of fatalities. These two districts also account for the majority of the total cases.

Asked if there is a possibility of reimposition of stricter measures like sealing of borders with Delhi if the cases continue to rise, Vij said, "We are keeping an eye, but as of now there is no such move."

Amid rising number of COVID-19 cases, the Haryana government had said 1,106 final-year MBBS students studying in government and private medical colleges would be deployed for effective management of the pandemic.

"We have come up with a protocol for these students and it has been decided that they will not be put on hard duties. We will deploy them in carrying out surveys, maintaining containment zones, sample collection etc. We need more manpower in the hospitals and this step will help spare our doctors and other health professionals who otherwise have to manage these duties as well," said Vij.

He said that final-year B.Sc and M.Sc nursing students will also assist in effective management of the pandemic and the chief medical officers of districts will use their services accordingly.

Vij further said that over 600 doctors had been recruited recently, of whom 350 have already joined.

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