{"id":13357,"date":"2009-07-16T02:11:00","date_gmt":"2009-07-16T02:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/cant-afford-to-fall-ill-in-dwarka\/"},"modified":"2018-06-04T17:29:15","modified_gmt":"2018-06-04T17:29:15","slug":"cant-afford-to-fall-ill-in-dwarka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/cant-afford-to-fall-ill-in-dwarka\/","title":{"rendered":"Can\u2019t afford to fall ill in Dwarka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jaya Shroff Bhalla, Hindustan Times
<\/em><\/strong>
Just last week, Sector 19 resident Biplabh Kumar (name changed on request), paid Rs 1,600 for a few stitches to his son\u2019s knee at a private hospital in Dwarka.
Normally, the sutures would not have cost more than Rs 100. But Dwarka \u2014 Delhi\u2019s pride and Asia\u2019s largest sub-city \u2014 is a place where even general physicians charge Rs 300 per consultation.
All thanks to the complete absence of government healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

Making hay<\/strong>
Dr D Arora, a private practitioner who runs a clinic from the Sector 6 DDA flats, used to charge Rs 150 for a first consultation and nothing for subsequent visits, till two years ago.
Later, he raised his fee to Rs 200 and, now, he charges Rs 300 per visit. Yet, the number of patients visiting his clinic has only gone up.
And there are at least 30 such clinics that have mushroomed in Dwarka\u2019s sectors 6 and 7.
So, why is healthcare prohibitively expensive in Dwarka? Simply because, even 10 years after it was developed, Dwarka does not have government healthcare facilities.<\/p>\n

Only on paper<\/strong>
Dwarka\u2019s first government hospital \u2014 a multi-specialty 750-bed unit named Bharat Ratna Indira Gandhi Hospital \u2014 should be ready by next November. At least, that was the promise made when Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced the project in November 2007.
The foundation stone of the Rs 350-crore project was not laid till a full year after the CM\u2019s announcement. And since then, not a brick has been laid at the 15-acre site.<\/p>\n

Primary cause<\/strong>
Things are no better on the primary healthcare front.
Till just two months ago, there was no Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) dispensary in Dwarka, although 70 per cent of the sub-city\u2019s population comprises retired government servants. On May 25, a dispensary was inaugurated in Mahavir Enclave, near sectors 1, 2, 6 and 7, but most residents remain in the dark about it.<\/p>\n

Before that, all that the sub-city had in the name of government health services was four dispensaries that opened 10am-1.30pm. \u201cOfficially, they are supposed to open 9am-2pm, but the staff stops registering patients after 12pm,\u201d said MK Gupta, a senior citizen who resides in Dwarka\u2019s Sector 10.<\/p>\n

Privates profit<\/strong>
Absence of government healthcare facilities has perpetuated the windfall for private hospitals in the sub-city.
Ayushman (50 beds) and Bensups (150 beds) are the only multi-specialty private hospitals in the area.
\u201cSince the other nearby hospital \u2014 Mata Chanan Devi in Janakpuri \u2014 is at least 8km away, these two can dictate terms. Their charges are especially steep in emergencies,\u201d said Sector 18 resident Kamakhya Gupta (55), a homemaker.
Hospital owners, however, dispute this. Satpinder Singh, administrator at Ayushman Hospital, said, \u201cWe have been here for five years now. People repose their faith in us and that is why we are successful. On any given day, our occupancy level is more than 80 per cent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seniors suffer most<\/strong>
Retired government servants surviving on pension make up almost half of Dwarka\u2019s five-lakh population. So, the lack of Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) facilities in the vicinity affects them the most.
The closest CGHS-empanelled hospitals are Mata Chanan Devi and Deen Dayal Hospital, 6-16 kilometres away respectively, depending upon where you stay in Dwarka.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor my daily medicines, I still go to the CGHS dispensary in Munirka, which is about 12km away. I have to make two trips every month: one to collect the medicines that are in stock, and the second to collect medicines that have to be indented and are not easily available. But do I have a choice?\u201d said Sector 6 resident Hari D Goyal, senior citizen and CGHS beneficiary, who retired from Indian Economic Service 14 years ago.
Although it is meant to benefit him, Goyal had not heard about the new CGHS dispensary in Mahavir Enclave.<\/p>\n

Kiran Walia, Health Minister spoke to Jaya Shroff Bhalla<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

When was the plan for the 750-bed Dwarka Hospital sanctioned?<\/strong>
About one-and-a-half years ago.<\/p>\n

How much money has been allocated for the hospital project?<\/strong>
Rs 350 crore. It is a mega project.<\/p>\n

When is the project expected to start?<\/strong>
Very soon. In fact, I will be meeting DDA officials as soon as the Assembly sessions get over, to finalise the details of the project.<\/p>\n

What has held up the project, especially since all sanctions were made one-and-a-half years ago?<\/strong>
Recently, it was decided to make the Dwarka hospital quakeproof. The plan had to be revised accordingly. We should be getting DDA\u2019s approval in a month.<\/p>\n

It is more than 10 years since Dwarka came into being. Do you think it is fair that the residents, most of whom are retired officials, have to shell out so much money on private healthcare because of the government\u2019s delay?<\/strong>
I understand they are anxious. We will work out something soon.<\/p>\n

By when can Dwarka residents expect to see a hospital?<\/strong>
We expect DDA\u2019s approvals in a month, and we should start work almost immediately.<\/p>\n

Locals share their experiences with HT<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Even a 100-bed hospital would help, to start with\u2019<\/em><\/strong>
Sector 10 resident MK Gupta, 56, took voluntary retirement from the Delhi government. For the last three years, he has been taking his wife Kamala, 59, who is a CGHS beneficiary, to Mata Chanan Devi Hospital in Janakpuri, about 8km away.
His wife, who has severe osteoporosis in her toes, has trouble in walking, as her toes swell up every winter.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe needs to undergo rigorous physiotherapy every year for about 20-25 days, especially when it is very cold. Absence of a local health facility makes life very difficult for us. The private hospitals charge Rs 1100 per session, which is too much for a retired official. Moreover, these hospital are not CGHS-empanelled, hence we pay from our own pocket,\u201d said Gupta.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf not a full-fledged 750-bed hospital, the government should have a 100-bed facility for emergency situations, to start off with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The hospital was clueless about my wife\u2019s problem\u2019
<\/strong>
Hardev Goyal, 78, lost his soulmate to Dwarka\u2019s shoddy healthcare infrastructure three-and-a-half years ago.
The Sector 6 resident, who retired from Indian Economic Service 14 years ago, is still haunted by memories of his wife\u2019s last days.
\u201cI got my wife\u2019s check-up done when she complained of discomfort on December 10. For consultation, we took her to a private hospital with all her reports. We were told she was fine. The same evening, at 7 pm, we had to rush her to the hospital when she experienced difficulty in breathing. They kept my wife in the ICU. At 5 am, they pronounced her dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, I was told it was cardiac failure. Then, they said, she died of water accumulation in her lungs. They did not give me a convincing reason. What could they say, they did not know the reason themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Who will take me to hospital in an emergency?\u2019
<\/strong>
Sadhu Singh, 82, retired from central government service around 22 years ago.
The Sector 6 resident now lives with his son, who travels on business frequently.
\u201cI am old and may need to be rushed to the emergency at any time. Often, I am alone at home, with my son away at work,\u201d said Singh.
\u201cHow much can the neighbours do, really? I can\u2019t expect anyone to rush me to Janakpuri or anywhere else, in the absence of a CGHS facility in Dwarka. And private hospitals are so expensive.\u201d
Singh lives in constant fear of being left at the mercy of private practitioners in the absence of a government healthcare facility in Dwarka.
\u201cI think, it is time the government woke up to the basic needs of its citizens \u2014 people like us who have dedicated all their lives to the government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jaya Shroff Bhalla, Hindustan TimesJust last week, Sector 19 resident Biplabh Kumar (name changed on request), paid Rs 1,600 for a few stitches to his son\u2019s knee at a private hospital in Dwarka.Normally, the sutures would not have cost more than Rs 100. But Dwarka \u2014 Delhi\u2019s pride and Asia\u2019s largest sub-city \u2014 is a place where even general physicians charge Rs 300 per consultation.All thanks to the complete absence of government healthcare facilities. Making hayDr D Arora, a private practitioner who runs a clinic from the Sector 6 DDA flats, used to charge Rs 150 for a first consultation <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,1],"tags":[1879],"class_list":["post-13357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-update","tag-update"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48843,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13357\/revisions\/48843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dwarkaparichay.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}