THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Right from OP ticket counter to mortuary, the people are forced to run from pillar to post if they want to get a decent service at the government hospitals, which is otherwise considered to come at nominal rates and even free.
Though it is mandatory that government hospitals should serve patients without charging money, most of the time the actual service is only deliveredif money changes hands. In a typical case in a rural hospital, a gynaecologist gets anywhere between Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 for a normal delivery and about Rs 10,000 for a C-Section.Moreover, the patients have to shell out Rs 300 for each scan they undergo at the government hospitals. The patients are ready to give the money as a scan outside costs about Rs 600 to Rs 800.Nurses too are given money between Rs 250 to Rs 500 for better care. An attendant who just pushes the stretcher gets at least Rs 50 to Rs 100 per person. Though this is the trend in taluk and district hospitals, things are better in the medical college, as the staff there are quite reluctant to accept money as people have become more alert. Still, the bystanders give money as it has been proven overtime that better treatment is delivered only if money is given. Though private practice has been banned for
Medical College doctors, the patients generally visit the doctors at their homes and pay money which differs for different treatments and surgeries. Besides, the doctors choose a particular lab or a scan centre for his patients for which they get regular commission.