SevenHills-BMC agreement delayed

The possibility of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between SevenHills Hospital and the civic body has been delayed. Both have locked horns over the price at which medicines should be sold to poor patients.

The bone of contention is the quality of medicines the civic-run hospitals provide and the ones prescribed by the super-specialty hospital. The hospital authorities provide branded medicines to poor patients, while the BMC hospitals have been giving generic medicines.

Civic officials claimed that the hospital is still not willing to give away the medicines free to BMC-referred patients. “We have resolved all clauses and we hope to sort this out amicably too,” said municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya on Friday.

The MoU will be signed only when the hospital abides to this clause, he added.

SevenHills Hospital is the first super-specialty hospital developed under the public-private partnership model. Set up over a 17-acre plot, it is owned by the BMC.

The civic body has laid down clauses that the hospital should abide by. Besides, subsidised rate of medicines and medical services, conditions included 20% bed reservation in all the wards for BMC patients, 80% employment to the citizen of the state domicile and an officer on special duty to oversee the implementation of the terms and conditions of the agreement.