BHUBANESWAR: Opposing the alleged arbitrary termination of 993 Swasthyamitras across Odisha, the All Odisha Swasthyamitra Association on Friday announced a statewide agitation from June 22.
Addressing mediapersons, association president Ritanjali Behera alleged that the move would push hundreds of families into uncertainty while adversely affecting healthcare services and the implementation of government health schemes across the state.
Behera said the 993 Swasthyamitras have been serving in Odisha’s healthcare sector for the past eight years and have played a crucial role in facilitating cashless treatment for patients under government-sponsored health schemes.
Apart from managing help desks in hospitals, they assist patients with e-KYC, Aadhaar linkage, Ayushman card-related services, blood donation support and grievance redressal, while also helping ensure that beneficiaries are not charged illegally for services covered under public health programmes.
According to the association, the affected personnel are deployed in more than 700 private hospitals across all 30 districts of Odisha and have contributed significantly to strengthening patient services and the effective implementation of health insurance schemes.
It expressed concern that the sudden removal of such a large workforce would create difficulties for lakhs of poor patients who depend on these services for accessing treatment and navigating hospital procedures.
Association secretary Manas Kumar Lenka and senior adviser Sudarshan Chhotray alleged that after the change in government, representatives of the Swasthyamitra workforce had met the chief minister and were assured that no employee would lose his or her job.
They also pointed out that the Health minister had earlier stated in the Assembly that Swasthyamitras would continue to function as Arogya Mitras. However, termination notices were issued on May 29 and are scheduled to take effect from June 30, they said.
The association underlined that nearly 70 per cent of the affected employees are women and described the decision as a setback to women’s economic empowerment. It demanded immediate withdrawal of the termination order, job security for all Swasthyamitras and their direct absorption under the State Health Assurance Society (SHAS), instead of continuing under the outsourcing system.