Ambulance prices to be fixed, says Tope

After several complaints of private ambulances charging exorbitant fares to ferry Covid-19 patients, the state government has decided to fix the rates and also requisition

After several complaints of private ambulances charging exorbitant fares to ferry Covid-19 patients, the state government has decided to fix the rates and also requisition ambulances across the state to provide free service to patients. The state health department and the Food and Drug Administration will come out with a notification to keep the prices of masks and alcohol-based sanitizers “affordable” for all to have access to it, state health minister Rajesh Tope said.

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The health minister, in a Facebook Live address on Thursday evening, said that the state government had decided to intervene in fixing rates of these essential services and items so that there is no profiteering during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the state cabinet on Thursday decided to hike the monthly remuneration of Accredited Social Health Activists (Asha) workers.

Asha workers will now get a fixed monthly payment hike of ₹2,000, while group leader’s payment will be hiked by ₹3,000. Earlier, remuneration was given based on actual work carried out by these women. Maharashtra has 65,740 Asha workers in the state and the hike in remuneration will come into force from July 1. The state has earmarked Rs170 crore for the same.

“Asha workers are a strong pillar of the public health department. They go door-to-door to carry out surveys during coronavirus outbreak; earlier too, these workers have been doing good work. Their work is risky, difficult, tedious and one that required a lot of effort. Now, state and Central governments have decided a fixed amount for them. Today, the cabinet has hiked payment by ₹2,000 for Asha workers,” said Tope.

The health minister said that the relatives of Covid-19 patients, especially in Mumbai, are facing issues with private ambulance operators overcharging and “exploiting” them. “We are getting complaints that [private] ambulances charge ₹8,000- ₹10,000 for a distance of 500m. In times of such a pandemic, when people are scared, nobody should be exploited,” he said.

Based on the recommendation of a committee under Dr Sudhakar Shinde, the state had asked district collectors and municipal collectors to get data of private ambulances from the regional transport offices (RTOs) to requisition these vehicles. A notification is expected on Friday, Tope said.

“The ambulances that are found to be in a good condition will be requisitioned, rent will be decided and it will be pressed into service to ferry Covid-19 patients for free. Besides that, those who want to continue to operate their private services, they will not be allowed to charge any amount they deem fit. For that, collectors and municipal commissioners will decide the fare on a per km basis, depending on the district and city. Relatives of the patients will have to pay according to the fare determined. High-handedness of these private operators will not be tolerated.”

Tope stressed that now with further relaxations to be granted by the state government, citizens need to follow social distancing, wear masks and sanitise their hands regularly. In a bid to make masks and sanitizers adequately available to all, Tope said that the state government will issue an order to make the items affordable. “If masks and sanitizers have to be used by all, prices should also come down. All should get good-quality masks and alcohol-based sanitizers at affordable prices. Nobody should profit from the pandemic, or misuse this period. A notification will be issued by FDA and state health department in the regard,” Tope said in the Facebook Live.

The state health department has ordered one lakh antigen test kits, which will be done for frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, sanitation workers, police personnel. The state has also decided to carry out ELISA-based antibody tests in containment zones, the health minister said.

“We are now starting now testing protocol with antigen tests. These are similar to swab tests, but unlike RT-PCR tests, these test results come in an hour. It will save time. As per the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the antigen tests will be done on frontline workers, including workforce in essential services, people in containment zones. The state government had issued a GR regarding it and the department had ordered 1 lakh kits for the test,” Tope said, adding that the price of the test is ₹450.

Antibody tests are different from the current testing used for Covid-19 cases, which reveal the presence of the virus itself by detecting its genetic material, rather than antibodies against it. Tope said that the “rapid” test will give results whether the person is infected with the virus or not.

“We have decided to do ELISA based antibody tests. Like an antigen test, this too gives results faster; in 30 minutes. We can ascertain how many people have been infected with the virus in a containment zone,” he said.