Bal Sakha scheme: Doctors withdraw

Initially,more than 400 paediatricians had joined the scheme when it started in June. Later,many doctors in Panchmahals district withdrew from it.

“Initially,there was no proper briefing about the scheme. We were told the scheme is bifurcated and that we have to treat the infants till the age of one month. However,when we submitted the documents after treating the first set of patients,we were not given any payment saying the treatment of infants was not covered under the scheme. When we protested,some of us recently received partial payments,” said Dr D Goswami,a private paediatrician from Lunavada.

A paediatrician from Halol,requesting anonymity,said: “The scheme is hampering our private practice as well. The number of patients seeking free service is high. While we cannot refuse the patients,the government is not paying for our services. Also,with the amount of paper work,we are bound to appoint a person to maintain the records on our own expenses.”

The government has reportedly divided the scheme into two parts. The paediatricians belonging to the part one category of the scheme have to tie up with Chiranjeevi doctors to monitor health of newborn babies till they achieve the age of one month. The doctors who are in part two will receive patients referred to by the Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) through the Community Health Centres (CHCs).

“Currently,in Panchmahals district,barring 15 paediatricians,other doctors have dissociated themselves from the scheme. So,we have started block-level monthly meetings to make the patients as well as doctors understand the scheme in detail,” said Dr P K Srivastav,Reproductive and Child Health Officer,Panchmahals district.