Warangal, April 06: Inspired by the speech delivered by president of Gynaecologists Association of India P. C. Mahapatra at the 59th all-India conference, well-known gynaecologist in town P. Anjani Devi has decided to reduce the charges by 50 per cent for select patients.
Dr. Anjani Devi, who has been running Kalyani Hospitals for over three decades, has introduced the ‘Suguna Safe Motherhood’ card which enables even the poorest of the poor to afford an institutional delivery at 50 per cent of the cost.
The card enables the holder to get two injections which are usually given for iron deficiency for free which otherwise cost Rs. 1,400 and secure 50 per cent discount on all tests. The hospital would charge only Rs. 3,000 for normal delivery and Rs. 6,000 for caesarean excluding medicines.
Roping in pharmacists
“The charges are more than double otherwise. We are also trying to rope in pharmacists to bring down the cost further. Normally, the medicines cost anywhere between Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 6,000. We are asking them to supply medicines at the wholesale price for the benefit of the poor,” said Kalyani Hospital MD Parcha Kodandarama Rao. A normal delivery would cost over Rs. 5,000 while a caesarean costs anywhere between Rs. 10,000 and Rs 15,000. “The cost includes charges of anaesthetic, assistant, consumables, service charges and others,” he said.
This is a first of its kind gesture by a private individual or hospital in the region. Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Anjani Devi said “I was moved by the speech of Dr. Mahapatra. The neo-natal mortality in AP is 50 per 1,000 whereas it is 13 in Kerala and 15 in Tamil Nadu. He wanted all the gynaecologists to reduce costs by just Rs. 500 to encourage institutional deliveries,” she said. Dr. Anjani Devi said she discussed the idea with fellow gynaecologists — Arundhati Sai, Aravinda, and Anuradha — and with other colleagues at Kalyani Hospitals who readily agreed to chip in. Launching the card, Joint Collector Vakati Karuna also appealed to other doctors to do their bit in reducing costs of medicare for the benefit of poor.
–Agencies