The immensely popular pay wards at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) will soon cost more. The government effected the hike in charges, which have remained the same since the establishment of the wards in 2008, citing escalating maintenance costs.
There are around 130 pay wards with nearly 200 beds in the two tower blocks of the hospital. A typical ward consists of single rooms with air conditioning facility, twin-sharing rooms and rooms which can be shared by four patients.
The hospital collects maintenance charges — towards room rent — from patients opting for admission in the pay wards. With the revision of rates, the cost per bed per day has risen from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 for a four-sharing room, from Rs. 300 to Rs. 450 for a twin-sharing room and from Rs. 600 to Rs. 900 for an air conditioned single room.
Hospital authorities said the wards have become much sought-after over the years, with occupancy rates doubling from 40 per cent to 80 per cent. Considering the increase in the number of patients, the cost of day-to-day repair and maintenance, including civil and electrical works in the wards, has also increased, an official said.
An increase in maintenance charges was suggested at a recent meeting of the pay ward improvement committee.
Following this, a proposal to this effect submitted by the director of medical education to the government was accepted.
The health department issued a government order on June 20.
The official said the new rates will come into effect soon. The wards are especially popular among patients belonging to middle-income groups.
The number of patients admitted in the wards increased from 1,842 in 2008 to 4,580 in 2012.
As a result, the funds obtained through the maintenance charges shot up from around Rs. 98 lakh in 2008 to Rs. 2.20 crore in 2012.
