The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has approved a plan to allow private hospitals and nursing homes to build an additional floor if they agree to reserve beds, in addition to the existing ones, for beneficiaries of the state government’s Swasthya Sathi scheme.
However, there are unlikely to be many takers for the offer, especially from among the big establishments, because of the other conditions attached to it, such as treating the beneficiaries at “unviable” rates, officials at several hospitals said.
Another condition set by the KMC is that the hospitals and the nursing homes have to treat 10 cancer patients for free every month on the recommendations of the mayor, deputy mayor, commissioner, secretary and the chief municipal health officer.
Retired or current employees of the KMC and their dependents and the councillors are eligible for the free treatment, KMC officials said.
The hospitals that will be allowed to build the extra floor will also be required to treat current and retired KMC employees and their dependents and the councillors under the West Bengal Health Scheme.
The health scheme provides health insurance cover to employees of the state government. The KMC employees are not covered by the scheme.
An official at a private hospital said they have already entered into an agreement with the KMC for treating its employees at the West Bengal Health Scheme rates.
“The patients have to pay because neither the KMC nor the state government will pay for them. But we will charge KMC employees according to the West Bengal Health Scheme rates,” said the official.
Officials at a number of private hospitals said there are unlikely to be many takers for the KMC’s offer because of the conditions attached.
“The conditions are unreasonable. The KMC could have made this a win-win proposition had it consulted with us,” an official at a private hospital said.
An official of another private healthcare institute, however, said that big hospitals may not find the offer attractive, but the smaller ones and the nursing homes may be keen on accepting it because they want more Swasthya Sathi patients to get treated at their establishments.
Metro reported in October that the KMC was mulling changes in the building rules so hospitals admitting Swasthya Sathi patients could build an extra floor.
“The civic house has recently given its nod to the proposal. The hospitals and the nursing homes that will accept the offer have to reserve beds, in addition to what they have already reserved, for Swasthya Sathi patients,” said a KMC official.
“By constructing the additional floors, the hospitals will not be allowed to violate the rule on the mandatory open space. There should also be additional car parking space, in tune with the additional space being built,” the official said.
Sources in the KMC said the civic body had received requests from many nursing homes and hospitals for some relaxations to the building rules so they could create extra space.
The civic body felt it should amend the building rules instead of extending benefits to hospitals on a case-by-case basis. The proposal is in response to such requests.
The Swasthya Sathi scheme, launched in 2016, offers coverage for secondary and tertiary care of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum per family. Till August 31, over 58 lakh hospital treatments were covered under the scheme.