Bhubaneswar: The government, Saturday, announced free treatment for all persons who were injured in road accidents for the first 48 hours in an attempt to reduce deaths.
The Transport and Commerce Department has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding this. Cases of persons suffering trauma due to road accidents are increasing in the state. The Health & Family Welfare, Commerce & Transport Departments, the NHAI, the police and fire service departments have joined hands to reduce the casualty rate.
The condition of an accident victim in the first 48 hours is critical and can lead to death if not managed properly. “It has been decided to render free medical/surgical/critical care to all patients undergoing trauma so that financial constraints do not harm accident victims,” the SOP said.
The required money will be provided from the Road Safety Fund. As treatments and investigations are already free in government medical institutions, the free treatment scheme will be applicable only in private hospitals, it said.
This facility will be implemented on a pilot basis at the Ashwini Hospital, Cuttack, Apollo Hospital, Bhubaneswar and AMRI Hospital, Bhubaneswar, for six months to assess the annual financial implication.
As per the SOP, any person injured in a road mishap can be admitted to the nearest trauma care centre. If the trauma care centre happens to be a private one, the hospital will start immediate treatment and intimate the Director of Medical Education & Training (DMET) about the patients’ time of admission, nature of injury and condition, and an estimate of the treatment cost during the first 48 hours.
The DMET will release a formal permission letter to go ahead with the treatment either by email or any other media. After 48 hours from the time of admission, the private hospital will have to submit supporting documents for reimbursement of the cost of treatment, it said.
The DMET will release the settled claim amount to the concerned hospital. If required the opinion of an expert committee will be taken.
If the patient requires treatment beyond 48 hours it will be continued and the cost will have to be borne by the patient. However, the treatment is free, if the patient is admitted in a government hospital.
If the patient happens to be eligible for help from the Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF), the treatment would continue and the cost will be borne by OSTF. The settled money will be released within a week of the claim.
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