Bangalore: One-year rural service will be mandatory for doctors, says Khadar

From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, May 23: Karnataka’s new Health and Famil Welfare Minister U T Khadar has announced that the State Government was committed to make one year rural service mandatory for all MBBS and medical post-graduates studying in the State.

Khadar said a Bill pertaining to rural service was pending before the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Both houses of the State legislature have passed the Bill during the tenure of the BJP government.

''We are committed to enforcing the Bill as soon as it receives the assent from the President,”  he said.
Doctors will have to shell out hefty fines if they failed to serve in rural areas.

Under the provisions of the Bill, MBBS doctors will be fined Rs 15 lakh, the PG diploma and PG doctors will be fined Rs 20 lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectively, if they do not serve in rural areas for one year after completion of their course.

A delegation would be taken to Delhi to urge President Pranab Mukherjee to give his assent to the Bill soon, the minister said.

The Government will set up an Equipment Monitoring Cell in the State to monitor functioning and repair of all existing equipment in primary and community health centres, taluk, district and state-level hospitals.

Malfunctioning equipment would be repaired only through companies that manufactured the product. The Cell manned by three officials would get the defunct equipment repaired in 24 hours.

A technician attached to the health centre or hospital has to inform the Cell about the malfunctioning of the equipment and reasons for its disuse.

After noting down the reasons given by technician, the Cell would inform the manufacturing company to repair the equipment, he said.

A large number of equipment purchased for use in x-ray, ICU and operation theatre were not being used either to neglect or malfunctioning.

To ensure its use and provide quality service to patients visiting hospitals, the Cell would be set up to monitor functioning of equipment, Khadar said.

In future, equipment of only reputed manufacturing companies would be purchased through tenders.

The role of middlemen in tenders or procurement of equipment would be totally avoided, Khadar said.

The government was mulling on formulating a general health insurance scheme for above poverty line families in the State. The government would reimburse bills for surgeries and other treatments, Khadar said.

The officials have been told to work out the plan. Already, there was a insurance scheme for BPL families.

Under the Arogya Kavacha scheme of the government, a decision has been taken to extend the state-run 108 ambulance coverage beyond 80 kms. Now ambulance provides emergency response service within 80 kms only.

Permission would be given to 108 staff to take the patient to hospital located beyond 80 kms if there was no hospital with the 80 kms radius, he said.

Now one ambulance was deployed for a lakh population. With the increased demand for 108 services, an ambulance would be provided to 50,000 population, he said.

The Government spends Rs 221 crore for implementing the Arogya Kavacha scheme per year.
It receives Rs 80 corre from National Rural Health Mission, he said. 

Started in November 2008, the emergency service run by the government in association with GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI).

Under the NRHM, the government would receive Rs 1400 crore in 2013-14 against Rs 1062 crore in 2012-13.

The State would receive Rs 34 crore in the current fiscal year from the Centre for taking up non-communicable disease programmes.

Under the Urban Health Mission, the Centre has sanctioned Rs 104 crore and it would be taken up in Bangalore only, he said.

He said the Director of Health has been directed to submit a report on number of persons affected by endosulfan in the State.

A district-level committee headed by District in-charge minister would be constituted to provide health care facilities and monthly honorarium to endosulfan victims, particularly in Dakshina Kannada district.

Providing one-time compensation to victims would not solve their social and economic problems, he said adding: ''The victims need permanent solution.”