Ayushman card holders to get cheaper treatment at Gurugram’s Sheetla Mata hospital: CM Nayab Singh Saini

Chandigarh. Patients covered under Ayushman Bharat and those from families earning less than ₹5 lakh a year will be treated at subsidised rates at the 883-bed teaching hospital of Shri Sheetla Mata Devi Medical College in Gurugram.

The decision came at a meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in Chandigarh on Tuesday. The meeting was called to decide how the medical college and its hospital in Sector 102 will be run and maintained.

“Making healthcare services accessible and affordable for the common people is a priority of the state government,” Saini said.

What will poor patients get at Sheetla Mata hospital?

Along with lower treatment charges, officials were told to set up special facilities at the hospital for Ayushman Bharat beneficiaries and eligible low-income patients. The government said the aim is to take the money worry out of treatment for economically weaker families and give them good care at prices they can afford.

Will medicines be cheaper too?

Saini directed officials to open an AMRIT Pharmacy on the hospital campus, where patients and their attendants can buy quality medicines at low prices.

“Along with treatment, getting medicines at the hospital should also be easy and affordable,” he said.

What about MBBS seats and fees?

The meeting also took up admissions to the 150-seat medical college. Saini gave directions on the college’s academic set-up, the number of seats open to students and the fee structure. The official statement did not give the size of the treatment subsidy, the seat break-up or the fee amounts.

Where is the hospital?

The campus was planned as Gurugram’s first government medical college. It is at Kherki Majra village in Sector 102, near the Dwarka Expressway. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid its foundation stone in September 2019.

Who attended the meeting?

Industries and Commerce Minister Rao Narbir Singh and Cooperation Minister Dr Arvind Kumar Sharma joined through video conferencing. Officers present included Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Rajesh Khullar, Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary (Town and Country Planning and Urban Estates) Anurag Agarwal, Commissioner and Secretary (Finance) C.G. Rajinikanthan, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) CEO P.C. Meena and Industries and Commerce Director General Yash Garg.