Assuring every possible medical assistance to Bihar to cure children afflicted with Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), the Delhi Government on Wednesday offered to send medicines and specialist doctors.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, flanked by Health Minister Satyendar Jain, said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government was ready to send a team of doctors, paramedics, medicines and ambulances to Bihar.
According to reports, around 113 children have died so far due to AES in the state. “I offer all possible assistance to the Bihar government in this crisis. We are ready to provide help such as sending teams of our doctors, para-medical staff, medicines and ambulances, to the state government,” Sisodia said.
Taking jibe on Central government’s health scheme Ayushman Bharat and terming it as “White Elephant”, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that AAP government is ready to send a team of doctors, paramedics, medicines and ambulances to Bihar.
Delhi has provided a model to the country; enriching insurance companies cannot be the solution” Sisodia added.
Hitting out at the central government, Jain sought to know as to why no child was getting medical treatment under its Ayushman Bharat programme.
The Delhi health minister had recently announced that the AAP dispensation would not implement the central government-sponsored healthcare scheme in the national capital.
Raising question on the ‘effective’ implementation of Ayushman Bharat, Jain said, “Bihar children should have qualified for treatment under Ayushman Bharat; why has the scheme failed in Bihar?”
“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and their Central government ministers have been advertising the Ayushman Bharat scheme lately. Unfortunately, this crisis has proven that the scheme is a white elephant,” sisodia said.
“During such severe healthcare crises, it becomes clear that what people truly need is a strong network of healthcare infrastructure, not insurance schemes like Ayushman Bharat. Instead of enriching insurance companies, the government should have focused on building Mohalla Clinics, Poly Clinics, adding capacity to existing hospitals and building more hospitals.
Delhi has provided a model to the country by setting up Mohalla clinics, Polyclinics, and hospitals. More beds, more ICUs, more modern machinery is the need of the hour. That is the solution for today’s healthcare problem,” added Sisodia.
It may be recalled that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had written to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan two weeks back, saying the Delhi government’s health scheme is “ten times bigger and comprehensive” than the Centre’s flagship Ayushman Bharat programme.
“Hardly any citizen of Delhi goes to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to get treatment, which indicates that Delhi’s health scheme is functioning well”, Kejriwal had said in the letter.