As a part of its effort to reduce waiting time for dialysis in government hospitals, the Delhi government would soon be empanelling private centres and hospitals to carry out the procedure for patients at its cost, Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Monday.
Mr. Jain said the Delhi government would invite private dialysis centres and hospitals that have at least 10 dialysis machines and are empanelled under the Delhi Government Employees Health Scheme to be a part of the programme.
Patients who have lived in Delhi for at least three years and have an annual income of less than ₹3 lakh would be eligible for the scheme, he said. The government would refer such patients to a private centre for the procedure, for which it would foot the bill. In addition, the government was in the process of adding 75 dialysis machines in its own hospitals. Fifteen of the machines had already been put in place and the remaining would be done in the next three to four months, Mr. Jain said. The government pays ₹1,274 per round of dialysis and the same rate would be given to the private centres and hospitals that become a part of the scheme, the Minister said.
“There are 100 to 200 patients waiting for dialysis,” he said, referring to the waiting period for the procedure in government hospitals. He added that he expected at least five or six private hospitals to be empanelled.
