Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Mar 17: With empaneled private hospitals and dialysis centers halting services for the third consecutive day under the restructured AB-PMJAY-Sehat scheme, dozens of dialysis patients today urged the Government to intervene.
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These patients staged a silent protest at Sher-e-Kashmir Park, holding placards, demanding justice, and urging the Government to release pending payments to hospitals so they could avail dialysis services.
“The scheme is highly beneficial for poor people, especially those suffering from chronic diseases,” said one of the dialysis patients, Abdul Rashid.
However, he said, the private centers where patients used to get dialysis done have stopped offering services “because they have not received their pending payments.”
He stated that he has been on dialysis for several years and emphasized that without the scheme’s assistance, continuing treatment would leave him financially broke.
The patients urged the Government to release the pending payments to empaneled private hospitals and reconsider the recent changes made to package rates.
“They should be paid so that we can avail dialysis services without interruption; otherwise, we will face immense hardships,” the patients said.
The concerned patients pointed out that private hospitals handle a significant portion of dialysis cases in Kashmir, stressing that Government hospitals lack the space and capacity to meet the demand.
“If we are forced to go to public hospitals, patients will suffer because they have limited space and cannot cater to the demand,” said another patient, Riyaz Ahmad.
He added that they had faced a similar crisis earlier when the Government had disputes with the insurance company, leading to private hospitals and dialysis centers halting services.
“The issue now is that private centers are refusing to provide dialysis services under the Golden Card. Due to the recent changes in package price, they are offering it only on a payment basis which we cannot afford,” he said.
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