The Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research’s ( PGI MER ) Poor Patient Fund Allotment Committee has finally awakened from its sleep after two years and organised it first meeting last month.
The Hindustan Times in February had highlighted that how the committee constituted to give funds for the treatment of poor patients has not organised even a single meeting since its constitution in January 2012.
As per information, the meeting of the committee was organised on February 24, soon after the news report appeared in Hindustan Times.
The committee was constituted by institute’s director Dr YK Chawla under the chairmanship of Dr AK Gupta, medical superintendent. The committee was particularly constituted to allot financial aid for the treatment for poor patients who require funds above Rs 10,000.
In its maiden meeting, the committee recommended that the fund allocation for consideration of committee should be raised to Rs 20,000 as compared to the present ceiling of Rs 10,000.
The members present in the meeting proposed that urgent requests of funds beyond Rs 10,000 for patients may not be servient to the holding of meeting as it is likely to delay the decision and leading delayed the treatment.
{{/usCountry}}The members present in the meeting proposed that urgent requests of funds beyond Rs 10,000 for patients may not be servient to the holding of meeting as it is likely to delay the decision and leading delayed the treatment.
{{/usCountry}}The committee also recommended that the funds beyond 10,000 may be made under the National Illness Assistance Fund instead of Poor Patient Fund, as per the present procedure.
Significantly, at the PGI it has remained a long history that it has failed to utilise the funds it was given under various central and state government schemes for the treatment of poor patients. Around two years back, HT had highlighted that how the institute spent only 30% of the National Illness Assistance Fund it received to help the poor patients in their treatment.