Jeevan Dayee gets off the ground

MUMBAI, NOV 22: For Tukaram Arjun Pawar from Vachal village of Raigad district, it was a new lease of life, thanks to the initiative taken ...

MUMBAI, NOV 22: For Tukaram Arjun Pawar from Vachal village of Raigad district, it was a new lease of life, thanks to the initiative taken by Cardiology Professor Anil Kumar and his deputy G P Ratnaparkhi.

With the implantation of a pacemaker to regulate the functioning of his heart, the 60-year-old contract labourer became the first beneficiary of the Jeevan Dayee Health Scheme for the poor 8212; receiving full financial aid for treatment of his condition.

Pawar was referred to the J J Group of Hospitals by a local doctor from Raigad. Since his heart was completely blocked, he was told by the J J Hospital doctors to arrange for anything between Rs 40,000 and Rs 45,000 for implantation of a pacemaker. When Pawar expressed his inability to pay up, Anil Kumar referred the case to the Dean, Dayanand Dongaonkar, and Medical Superintendent M L Lankeshwar for financial assistance under the Jeevan Dayee Health Scheme JDHS.

Following the approval of his case expedited by the administration 8212; a modern pacemaker was implanted, giving Pawar a chance to lead a normal life.Kumar, who, along with Ratnaparkhi performed the surgery, said this was the first time the state government had borne the full expense of treatment under the scheme. Launched on October 11, the plan provides free treatment to patients suffering from heart, kidney and brain ailments.

While senior professors welcomed the scheme, they felt the procedure laid down by the public health department needed further simplification. As things stand now, patients below the poverty line, hoping to avail of the scheme, have to approach the Civil Surgeon of their respective districts. After receiving the approval of the Civil Surgeon, they must appear before a high-level divisional committee.

8220;I feel that both these conditions should be dropped and instead, the patient should be allowed to directly approach the hospitals approved under the Jeevan Dayee Health Scheme,8221; said a senior professor of Grant Medical College.

The professor pointed out that while the government extends financial assistance of Rs 50,000, following the laid-down procedure of approaching the Civil Surgeon and the Divisional Committee will cost the patient at least Rs 10,000.

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8220;More committees and more approvals involve more corruption. This procedure should be dropped immediately,8221; he observed.