BENGALURU: Dr Siddanna K (73), a general physician in Yadgir, died due to Covid-19 on July 25 last year. He was seeing patients in his clinic and contracted the disease, suffering from pneumonia along with comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension and chronic kidney disease, as per his death report. Till date, his family has not received the Rs 50 lakh compensation promised by the central government, to families of doctors who succumbed to the virus.
"We submitted all the documents through the Indian Medical Association, but we did not receive compensation even after a year. We had difficulty finding a hospital bed for him initially, as the centres were full. His clinic was closed, but on instructions of the Yadgir deputy commissioner, he opened it last year to see patients and was exposed to the virus," said Dr Siddaiah, his son-in-law, and professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru.
A similar story played out with the family of Dr MK Shakeel (56), a pediatrician and Associate Professor at Basaveshwara Medical College And Hospital, Chitradurga. He died this year and his family has not received any compensation.
"We applied for compensation through IMA, but have not received anything yet. He was in a critical stage and was on ventilator before his death. He treated both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients," said his son, Dr Aquib Shakeel, an orthopaedician from Ballari.
Chairman of the Indian Medical Association Standing Committee for Child Health, Dr S Srinivasa, who is from Karnataka, said not even five families of doctors in the state have received compensation. "I ran from pillar to post and met Health Department officials, including Jawaid Akhtar, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, and BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta to get the compensation released, but there has been no action taken yet," Dr Srinivasa told TNIE.
Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said the insurance scheme launched by the Centre last year, under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP), to provide a safety net to healthcare and front line workers due to adversities during pandemic, concluded on March 24, 2021. "However, the Centre, on April 21, announced that the Rs 50 lakh health insurance scheme for healthcare and front line workers has been extended for another year with immediate effect. If there are any procedural delays, we will speak to the insurance company and sort it out immediately," he said.