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Under fire for ‘profiteering’, Punjab to now provide plasma for free
The chief minister also appealed to the recovered patients to come forward to save the lives of others.
Amid controversy over the Punjab government putting a hefty price on “donated” plasma to treat Covid-19 patients in private hospitals, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday announced that the life-saving blood component will be provided free of cost to all those in need.
Amarinder directed the health department to strictly ensure that Covid-19 patients are not charged for plasma therapy and that nobody is allowed to buy or sell plasma, which has proven a life-saver in many cases in the absence of a cure for the infection. The state government had on Sunday decided to make plasma available to private hospitals from its plasma bank at a cost of ₹20,000 per unit. A notification was also issued in this regard.
However, the move drew all-round flak, especially from opposition parties which accused the government of profiteering. Aam Aadmi Party state president Bhagwant Mann even announced to stage a state-wide protest on Friday against the government move to sell donated plasma at an astronomical rate to coronavirus patients undergoing treatment in various private hospitals in the state.
In his statement, the chief minister also appealed to the recovered patients to come forward to save the lives of others. He urged all deputy commissioners (DCs) and health department officials, during a review meeting on Thursday, to motivate such patients to donate plasma. Currently, there are around 10,000 recovered Covid-19 patients in the state.
The CM also asked the health department to expedite setting up of two new plasma banks in Amritsar and Faridkot to supplement the one already operational in Patiala. He was informed by medical education minister OP Soni that the approvals for the new banks have already been received and tenders are being floated for the procurement of equipment.
Chief secretary Vini Mahajan suggested that all the field officers, including DCs and SSPs, should remain at their headquarter towns even at night for the next two months.
