In a move to facilitate those patients, who visit Government-run hospitals in the periphery of Dehradun district, State health department has recently taken a decision to open Jan Aushadhi centres at three health centres in the Dehradun district. However, department officials claimed that centres would prove extremely beneficial for curtailing treatment cost of the patients as generic life saving drugs would be easily available at the centres.
After having a hope that they will be treated at much nominal cost, patients who visit Government hospitals got setback as medical officers posted in the Government hospitals sends patients to private chemist shops operating around the Government hospitals.
Apart from paying high medical bills, the haggard patients so often are forced to consume additional medicines by the medical officers. After understanding the plight of the patients, state health department has already opened Jan Aushadhi centres in Government Doon Hospital. Apart from selling life saving generic medicines to patients, State health department has recently given power to the centre owners to sell generic medicines other than Government agencies.
The decision was taken to stock up generic medicines of other companies thereby increasing the product range and stores will also sell surgical equipments at very nominal rates. Well established sources revealed that the state health department has recently taken a decision to open more Jan Aushadhi centres at Sahaspur, Vikasnagar and Rishikesh health centres for providing much cheaper life saving drugs to patients. He claimed that plans are also in the pipeline for opening more centres in the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions of Uttarakhand for facilitating patients.
One of the department sources who wished anonymity told The Pioneer that it would be proved mandatory for the centre owners to have stock of life saving drugs especially antibiotics, analgesics, antipyretics, anti inflammatory drugs, suppositories, drops, inhalers, injections and cough syrups etc. at Jan Aushadhi centres, once they open in the near future. According to him, the cost of the life saving drugs is much lower than branded medicines available in private chemist shops operating around Government hospitals.