ROURKELA: The State government’s Niramaya scheme aiming to provide free medicines to the poor has failed in Sundargarh with most counters at the Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) and district headquarters hospital lacking stock of approved medicines.
As per reports, the Niramaya counters at the two hospitals are not even receiving 44 per cent of around 572 types of approved essential and non-essential drugs.
As a result, poor patients desperate for treatment are having to pay through their noses as they are forced to procure medicines from retail counters.
Besides, there are no Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) in these two largest government hospitals in the tribal-dominated district, to allow some relief to poor patients with low-cost generic medicines.
RGH Superintendent Dr Jagdish Barik informed that 106 and around 150 types of drugs are provided for outdoor and indoor patients, respectively. Locally purchased drugs from approved budget are provided to minimize financial burden on poor patients.
The Collector has recently assured financial support from District Mineral Foundation to enhance the drug budget for local purchase, he said.
Sharing that local purchase of drug is done by the Drug and Therapeutic Committee through tender, RGH Director Dr Santosh Swain said the budget remains at about Rs 30 lakh annually.
Needless to say, it is too little and too less given the strategic importance of RGH. In normal circumstances, the hospital receives about 1,200 outdoor patients and about 250 new admissions at the Indoor Patient Department daily.
The DHH and other health institutions of the district too are faced with similar crisis.
Slamming the poor implementation of Niramaya scheme, former president of Rourkela District Congress Committee (RDCC) Biren Senapati said five years after its implementation, the free drug initiative continues to be a farce.
Meanwhile, chief district medical and public health officer (CDM-PHO) Dr SK Mishra informed that for all government health institutions in the district except the RGH, the annual budget for local purchase of medicines is about Rs 80 lakh.