Eminent cardiac surgeon Naresh Trehan here on Saturday stressed on the need for the Centre to align with private sector and non-Government organisations in order to ensure that healthcare reaches everyone.
While talking to media persons at a Meet-the-Press programme by Central Press Club, Dr Trehan said, “The Centre should provide universal coverage to citizens by entering into agreement with private hospitals and NGOs for general and catastrophic illness. This would require a provision of `18,000 crore in budgetary allocations that could be distributed equally between the government and people.”
Dr Trehan, who is the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Medanta Group, said he had several rounds of discussion with the Union Finance Minister in this regard. The Centre seems inclined to implement such kind of scheme. He said he was hopeful that the coming budget would contain some provision in this regard.
“Several Government hospitals provide good facilities but are confronted with the problem of overcrowding, which could be overcome by aligning with private sector and civil society,” he added. Besides, no Government in the world is in a position to provide free healthcare to all its citizens. Dr Trehan confessed that a racket is operating in the cardiovascular fraternity wherein coronary stents are implanted in patients without the need of it to benefit the companies. He agreed that a few doctors are also involved in the racket.
Replying to a query, he advised that diabetes patients should regularly check the functioning of their kidneys and heart besides their sugar levels.
Dr Trehan, who was in the state capital to explore possibilities for opening a branch hospital, said he aimed that every state possessed good medical facilities so that people need not go elsewhere for receiving good treatment. Praising citizens of Madhya Pradesh for coming forward for organ donation, he hoped that the Group’s Indore Branch would soon begin heart transplant.