Facing a greedy private hospital? Know your legal recourse

Facing a greedy private hospital? Know your legal recourse

The State government had graded private hospitals based on infrastructure, bed strength, and other facilities.

Published: 25th June 2021 07:12 AM 

By Express News Service

In this final article of the Trick-or-Treat series, Express aims to refresh readers’ memory of the Government Order (G.O.) that limited the maximum that hospitals can charge for Covid treatment. Issued on May 22 in response to many complaints of hospitals fleecing patients, the G.O had also warned of punitive action against erring private hospitals. Salient points of the G.O. are as follows:

Under the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS), non-critical cases without oxygen support can be charged Rs 5,000 a day; non-critical cases with oxygen support can be charged Rs 15,000 a day; cases requiring ICU facility with invasive ventilation can be charged Rs 35,000 a day; cases requiring ICU facility with non-invasive ventilation, CPAP, and BiPAP oxygen devices can be charged Rs 30,000 a day; and cases requiring ICU facility with only oxygen support can be charged Rs 25,000 a day. The cost of medicines and other ICU tests will also be borne by government.

As for those not covered under the CMCHIS, non-critical cases not requiring oxygen support can be charged Rs 7,500 a day at Grade A1 and A2 hospitals, and Rs 5,000 at Grade A3 to A6 hospitals. In the same category, non-critical cases requiring oxygen support can be charged Rs 15,000 a day; those requiring ICU facility with non-invasive ventilation, CPAP, and BiPAP oxygen devices can be charged Rs 30,000 a day; cases requiring ICU facility with invasive ventilation can be charged Rs 35,000 a day; and those requiring ICU facility with only oxygen support can be charged Rs 25,000 a day. The State government had graded private hospitals based on infrastructure, bed strength, and other facilities.

Patients who wish to receive treatment in private hospitals under the CMCHIS, now require no referral form from a government doctor. Hospitals that breach these rules will be punished. The Coimbatore district administration has so far barred two such private hospitals from offering Covid treatment to patients.

Active cases below 45k, same as last October

Active cases below 45k, same as last October

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:27.06.2021

Even as 5,415 new infections were reported on Saturday, active case loadin Tamil Nadu dropped below 45,000 to 44,924. This took the cumulative case tally to 24.6 lakh. The148 deaths increased the toll in the state to 32,199.

Saturday’s new cases includes 205 instances of children aged12 and below. The last time Tamil Nadu had cases below 45,000 was on October 8, 2020, when the number of people under treatment dropped to 44,437 after it hit a peak on July 31with 57,968 cases.

Coimbatore continued to be the hotspot with 671 fresh Covid-19 cases. It was followed by its neighbour Erode with 574, Tirupathur 380, Salem 369 and Tirupur 337. The seven northern districts added 1,023 new cases, followed by central districts with 816 cases. With 314 cases reported in Chennai, the city and its neighbours — Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur together added 780. The 10 southern districts added 613 new cases.

Around 47% (2,527) of the new cases on Saturday were from the eight western districts. This has taken the number of people under treatment in these districts to 19,935, around 44% of the state’s active cases. This includes 6,122 active cases in Coimbatore, 4,509 in Erode, 2,598 in Salem, 2,052 in Namakkal and 2,021in Tirupur.

Chennai, with 3,590 active cases, and its three neighbouring districts with 7,298 people stillunder treatment.Theeight central districts have 6,811 active cases. This includes 2,204 in Thanjavur, 1,052 in Trichy and 770 in Karur. The northern districts have 5,923 people under treatment including 1,339 in Cuddalore, 1,196 in Kallakurichi and 1,156 in Tiruvannamalai. The southern districts have the least active cases with 4,955. This includes 757 in Virudhunagar, 679 in Sivaganga and 619 in Madurai.

Vellore reported the most number of deaths at 19 on Saturday. The western districts reported 48 deaths, while the north had 37 succumbing to the infection. Chennai and its neighbours reported 22 deaths. Southern districts too reported 22 deaths, central had19 deaths. At least 7,661 people were discharged, taking the total discharged to 23.8 lakh.

50% weightage for Class X score in TN Class XII marks

50% weightage for Class X score in TN Class XII marks

For Those Unhappy With Marks, Exam After Covid Ends

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:27.06.2021

Chief minister M K Stalin on Saturday announced the evaluation criteria to compute marks for state board Class XII students by fixing 50% weightage for Class X board exam marks, 30% for Class XII internal assessment and practical exams, and 20% weightage for Class XI marks.

The average of the best of three marks scored by students in any of the Class X board subjects would be taken for arriving at the weightage, a government release said. The state education board would also give opportunity for students who are aggrieved with their marks to write an exam after the pandemic and that would be considered as their final Class XII score. Marks will be declared for nearly 8.5 lakh Class XII students before July 31 as ordered by the Supreme Court.

The evaluation method announced by TN is different from that of the CBSE which gave almost equal weightage to Class X, XI exams and XII preboard tests (30:30:40).

Explaining the rationale behind more weightage for Class X marks, school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said students had appeared for Class X exams in a non-pandemic year after attending physical classes. “The Class XI exams conducted last year too was affected by the pandemic. The present method was chosen by the chief minister keeping in mind the interest of rural students, urban students, toppers and average students,” he said. The formula was fixed based on the report submitted by a10-member committee.

Exam for pvt candidates after Covid

The state board would conduct a separate exam for private candidates after the Covid-19 pandemic subsides.

State board schools completed practical exams for Class XII students before April. The Class XII practical exam marks (20 marks) and internal assessment (10 marks) will be calculated for 30 marks. If the subject doesn’t have practical exams, then the internal assessment marks will be converted into 30 marks.

Further, if the students could not take part in Class XII practical exams due to Covid-19, their Class XI marks will be used for tabulation. If students could not attend both Class XI and XII practical exams, their practical marks would be calculated based on Class X and Class XI theory exam marks. If students had failed in a subject in Class XI, they will be awarded 35 marks considering the Covid-19 situation.

Students who did not take part in theory exam, internal assessment and practical exam in Class XI and XII would be considered as private candidates, the release added.

Customer ‘without mask’ shot at by bank guard

Customer ‘without mask’ shot at by bank guard

Kanwardeep.Singh@timesgroup.com

Bareilly:26.06.2021 

A railway employee, in his 40s, who had gone to the bank to get his passbook updated was shot in the leg by the security guard there for not wearing a face mask. The incident occurred in the Civil Lines area of Bareilly on Friday and a purported video has gone viral.

Rajesh Rathore, who works with the telecom department of Indian Railways, has been admitted to a private hospital. Inspector general (Bareilly range) Ramit Sharma along with senior police officials rushed to the spot and carried out an investigation.

Rajesh’s wife Priyanka told TOI, “My husband had gone to the Bank of Baroda branch. He was not wearing a mask and was denied entry. After some time, he returned with a mask, but the same guard again denied him entry, saying it was lunch time. It was 11.30 am then. He then pushed my husband and shot him with his gun. No one at the bank helped my husband who made a call on my daughter’s mobile phone and informed us about the incident. I rushed to the bank where my husband was lying on the floor while none of the bank officials bothered to help him. I took him to hospital in an e-rickshaw.”

In a statement, the Bank of Baroda said, “We deeply regret the unfortunate firing incident that took place at Station Road branch, Bareilly, today as a result of a reported altercation between the guard and the victim. The injured has been immediately admitted in the district hospital and is reportedly out of danger.”

Late for office? Govt staffers will face pay cut

Late for office? Govt staffers will face pay cut

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Gandhinagar: 26.06.2021 

If you are a government employee, then make sure to arrive in office on time. Leaving early without intimation is also not an option if you do not want a salary cut or face disciplinary action.

After receiving multiple complaints about employees coming late for work and leaving before scheduled time, the state general administration department has passed an order saying that such employees will face strict action.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, government employees were given exemption from electronically swiping their cards, which register entry and exit time, till June  30. However, many employees took advantage of the concession and either flouted attendance norms or remained absent from office altogether.

GAD issued an order to all secretaries and department heads to watch out for employees bunking office and take necessary action against them by deducting their half day salary. The GAD circular said, “At a high-level meeting held under chairpersonship of additional chief secretary (finance), the issue of employees remaining absent was discussed and it was decided that action would be taken against such people.”

As per the new instruction, any employee who comes to office 10 minutes later than scheduled time or leaves 10 minutes earlier than scheduled time for three days in a month, will lose half a day’s salary. The GAD circular also states that employees will have inform immediate superior and department head in advance and take permission if they happen to be late for office.

GAD has directed the concerned section officer, under and deputy secretaries to ensure that the employees report to work on time and do not leave before 6pm time limit set by the government.

Employees may strike work

The Gujarat State Employee Coordination Committee, in a letter to chief minister Vijay Rupani, demanded that the government must provide all pending benefits under the seventh pay commission. The association has threatened a strike if the government fails to accept their demands. TNN

Covid gains for medicos as avg salary rises by 25%

Covid gains for medicos as avg salary rises by 25%

Parth.Shastri@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:26.06.2021 

When Dhanvantari Covid Hospital started functioning, the advertisement for various positions indicated monthly salary of Rs 2.5-Rs 3 lakh for specialists and Rs 1.25-Rs 1.5 lakh for MBBS graduates with GMC registration. The pay package was about twice what the doctors were drawing at government hospitals. Similar moves across the health sector also resulted in correction in salaries of resident doctors.

Covid pandemic put the healthcare sector in sharp focus, with the first wave marked by fear and second by apprehension. “By mid-April, many were exhausted. There was seemingly non-stop queue of patients. Many were getting serious and needed transfer or midnight assistance. Doctors worked round-the-clock with no other way out,” said a junior doctor at the Civil Hospital on condition of anonymity.

Thus, healthcare workers in both government and private sector gained, even as some of the demands are pending and a few agitations are still going on.

Babu Thomas, CHRO of Shalby Group of Hospitals, said that the rise in incentives is directly linked to the risks that healthcare professionals are exposed to during the pandemic. “In the first wave, 200 of our staff members were infected with Covid-19. This dropped to 13 in the second wave due to factors like vaccination. The salary parity of clinical staff thus rose 20-25% across the sector. Moreover, those working in Covid wards were also provided additional incentives,” he said.

Would the rush for healthcare workers continue? Thomas said that hospitals like his have retained majority of the staff members. “It’s likely that the healthcare workers would be in demand for at least some time. In addition to our existing staff, we have also kept a few fresh nurses on call if we need to scale up the operations at a short notice,” he said.

Dr Bharat Gadhvi, president of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association , said that from doctors to paramedics, those on Covid duty got 50% incentive of their salary on top of the salary hike. “Not just hospitals, several Covid care centres also opened up, and the state government also launched a major recruitment drive. This increased demand. The salary was also hiked to retain talent,” he said. “I believe that the trend is likely to continue.”

Students’ Canada dreams and Covaxin conundrum

FOREIGN DEGREES OF UNCERTAINTY

Students’ Canada dreams and Covaxin conundrum

Bharat.Yagnik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:26.06.2021 

Rajesh Ashara, a resident of Ankleshwar, had to thrice defer his plans for Toronto, Canada to pursue a masters’ degree in environmental engineering due to air travel restrictions imposed amid Covid-19 pandemic.

He has managed to book his ticket for this weekend by taking a longer route. His troubles however do not seem to end here. The reason being that he has been vaccinated with Covaxin, the anti-Covid-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech which is yet to get approval from the World Health Organization (WHO).

As a result, most countries including Canada treat those administered with Covaxin as ‘non-vaccinated’.

“I have booked hotels in Canada where I will be staying for 14 days as part of my quarantine period. For those who have taken two doses of WHO-approved vaccines, the quarantine rules are not applicable,” said Ashara.

He is more worried about following another rule that may require receiving another vaccine, approved in that country.

“I do not wish to risk my health by taking yet another dose of vaccine and that too of a different make. I am not sure of the health hazards associated with such a decision,” said Ashara.

Ankit Mistry, a visa consultant based out of Ahmedabad, says he has been receiving 40-50 inquiries on a daily basis about students planning to go overseas and their concerns regarding vaccination.

“I am flooded with all sorts of queries about which vaccination to be taken and which should be avoided. We are also asked if a ‘mix and match’ of vaccines can be taken. We tell them to consult doctors and medical experts. A majority of these queries are from students planning to go to Canada,” said Mistry.

The cost of quarantining in Canada can vary from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh depending on the hotel and city.

Earlier there were three connecting flight routes apart from the direct flights. They included via Muscat and Ethiopia and another one via Russia and Siberia for reaching Canada. Presently, students prefer to go Canada via Frankfurt and Mexico as the other two routes are closed for now.

Dhruvi Patel is keeping her fingers crossed for the direct flights connecting Ahmedabad and Toronto to reopen. She has got her student visa to pursue BSc with biology as the main subject at a university in Canada. Patel has taken two doses of Covaxin and hopes that the prevailing confusion about vaccination ends by the time she takes a flight to Canada.