Gujarat’s ‘free’ clinics squeeze poor for cash

Private clinics registered under the government’s Chiranjeevi Yojna fleece those below poverty line

AHMEDABAD: The state’s poorest people have to scrounge for money to secure the free medical care offered by the state government. This sickening condition has been diagnosed by a DNA investigation.

Daksha Parmar, a resident of Naroda and a holder of a card that certifies her status as being below the poverty line, is among the many who have been devastated by the ostensibly charitable scheme.

Parmar was asked to pay Rs5,000 for a C-section operation at a clinic in Shahpur, which is registered under the government’s much touted Chiranjeevi Yojana. The scheme is supposed to offer free treatment to BPL card holders.

DNA’s investigation has exposed  the impunity with which government-registered clinics cheat  destitutes under a scheme for which the Gujarat government has won the Asian Innovation Award.

It was conferred by the Singapore Economic Development Board and the Wall Street
Journal.

Under the Chiranjeevi Yojana, conceived in 2005 to foster the wellbeing of the mother and child, free medical treatment is offered to those who come under the poverty line and to those whose income is below Rs11,000 per annum.

Also, the doctors or hospitals are supposed to pay these patients Rs150 or more per visit, and at the time of discharge.

Seventy-three per cent of private gynaecologists in the state are participating in the scheme and they receive a pre-determined payment for each delivery.

Yet many doctors demand thousands of rupees from people like Parmar. “We thought we will not have to bear medical costs under the Chiranjeevi Yojana,” said Parmar, her voice stumbling on her sobs.

“But despite showing the BPL card the doctor demanded money. We were forced to borrow money on interest.”

The money was demanded at Dr Bharat Aatit's Shri maternity home in Desai ni Pol in Shahpur where Parmar was operated. When a DNA correspondent visited Aatit's clinic posing as a patient's brother, the strings attached to the charitable enterprise began to unravel.

The receptionist at the clinic said, “In case of a normal delivery nothing will be charged, but for a caesarean section, Rs6,000 has to be paid before the operation.”

When asked why a patient should be charged at all, the receptionist said private hospitals charge Rs12,000, but as the patient had a BPL card, she was being
offered a 50 per cent discount.

Maniben Makwana (45), another BPL card holder, was asked to pay Rs7,500 for a caesarean at the Narayani maternity clinic, in Dariapur, by one Dr Chirag Patel.

The family requested the doctor to continue with the operation while they arranged for the money.

“The doctor gave me three days to pay for the operation. My family arranged the money by mortgaging ornaments, but by the time they reached the hospital, I was thrown out of the nursing home in a critical condition,” Maniben said.

“I had a swelling on my body and even the stitches came undone.”

Maniben fainted outside the nursing home because of weakness. She was helped by a passer-by who hailed a rickshaw for her.

The baby she gave birth to had a tumour in the stomach. The doctors were aware of the baby’s condition when they threw her out.

Usha Makwana (20), another patient from Naroda, recounted how she was asked to pay Rs9,000 by a clinic registered to offer free treatment.

But because her family could not arrange the money, they decided to go to a private hospital which turned out to be cheaper.

Vibhaben, a community health worker in Odhav, said many poor patients were cheated daily. The family welfare officer with the AMC, Dr Kinnari Mehta, told DNA that the corporation had registered 10 cases of cheating since April involving the Chiranjeevi Yojna clinics.