THE HINDU, Kochi, January 11, 2015 05:46 IST
Stern action will be taken against those hospitals charging exorbitant amounts from patients for dialysis even after enrolling themselves in the Karunya scheme, Finance Minister K.M. Mani has said.
Inaugurating the second State-level conference of the Fellowship of Organ Transplantees (FORT) in Kochi on Saturday, the Minister said that complaints pertaining to certain hospitals fleecing patients under the Karunya scheme had come to the notice of the authorities.
“Dialysis can be done free of cost at all the 31 private hospitals registered under the Karunya scheme. But it has come to the attention of the government that there are some among them which charge a fee in the name of auxiliary services. Directions have been issued to take serious action against such hospitals’’, he said.
The Minister also announced that measures had been initialised to offer free dialysis in Ernakulam to the organ transplantees.
“Steps have been initiated to offer free dialysis in Ernakulam along the lines of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College system. Further, centres which offer free dialysis will be opened in 27 taluk hospitals,” Mani said.
