Charity hospitals under HC scanner

Charitable hospitals will now have the Bombay HC monitoring their work. The HC on Thursday approved a scheme where 319 state-sponsored hospitals will credit two per cent of their gross revenue to an Indigent Patients’ Fund (IPF), to be used for providing free treatment to poor patients.

The scheme was framed by a committee set up in response to a PIL highlighting the fact that charitable hospitals should provide free treatment to needy patients in lieu of the concessions granted by the government.

Based on the recommendations of the committee, which was headed by charity commissioner SB Dhumal, charitable hospitals will now have to admit indigent patients (annual income less than Rs25,000) and patients from economically weaker sections (annual income less than Rs50,000) to ten per cent (each) of operational beds in all departments.