Encouraged by a significant growth in institutional deliveries following the launch of KCR kits programme for women and newborns from June 2, the Telangana government has proposed the replication of incentives paid to doctors and para-medical staff under the Aarogyasri for the KCR kits too.
An amount of ₹1,500, including ₹500 for doctors and ₹1,000 to be shared by nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians and attenders, is proposed for every delivery.
Another ₹500 per case is proposed for every hospital as the consumption of disposables to meet delivery related requirements has gone up considerably.
In Aarogyasri, the team of doctors, nurses and para-medics at government hospitals are paid incentives at different rates depending upon the seriousness of illnesses and procedures involved but it was sought to be pegged at a flat ₹ 1,500 in KCR kits.
Sources said the hospitals were presently meeting the expenditure on disposables out of the development fund available with hospitals for maintenance and expansion of facilities. Moreover, the construction of sheds for attendants of patients has been necessitated since the number of deliveries, anti-natal check-ups and immunisation has gone up at hospitals.
But, the fund was mostly spent on deliveries.
At the 6 teaching and district hospitals, 30 area hospitals, 120 community health centres and 750 primary health centres in the State, a record 3.89 lakh pregnant women have registered under the KTR kits programme till date. Of the ₹ 443.63 crore budgeted for the programme with the expectation that 3 lakh deliveries will take place till next June, a sum of ₹24.26 crore has been spent on 49,000 deliveries so far.
The programme is two fold -- to pay ₹ 12,000 for birth of male and ₹ 13,000 for female babies in four instalments and handover kits worth ₹ 2,000 each -- to beneficiaries. The kits have 17 items, including two cotton sarees and packet of sanitary pads for mothers, mosquito net and attached bed for babies, soaps, oil and powder.
As the offer was attractive, most of the poor women who were earlier visiting private hospitals for deliveries turned to government institutions.
Thus, they not only saved on expenditure in private hospitals but earned money from going to government hospitals. Unless high risk pregnancies which numbered 2,383, the deliveries were mostly normal at government hospitals.
Sources added that the ongoing Rubella Measles vaccination campaign had slightly affected the programme this month as the staff was busy in it but it was likely to speed up again later.
