New Delhi: A Parliamentary Committee has raised concern over the uneven distribution of Central Government Health Service (CGHS) wellness centres across India and asked the Union Health Ministry to address the issue with urgency.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare in its latest report has found that out of the 340 allopathic wellness centres, 26 percent are concentrated in the Delhi NCR region. “Further, only six states (excluding the Delhi NCR region) have more than 10 CGHS centres,” the committee chaired by Rajya Sabha MP from BJP Bhubaneswar Kalita said. Notably, Arunachal Pradesh and the UTs of Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar islands and Lakshadweep have no CGHS wellness centre.
The CGHS is a healthcare facility provided by the Central Government for its employees and pensioners including their family members and some other classes of individuals in the governance structure. It aims to ensure comprehensive medical care with an emphasis on preventive healthcare. CGHS provides a wide range of medical services through a network of dispensaries, hospitals, and diagnostic centres across the country.
CGHS has empanelled 1735 private hospitals and 209 laboratories in different cities for carrying out investigations and indoor treatment facilities.
The CGHS has witnessed a significant leap in the last nine years with the scheme being extended from 25 cities in 2014 to 80 cities in 2023. Healthcare facilities are now being provided through 340 allopathic wellness centres, 18 polyclinics, 3 CGHS hospitals and 107 AYUSH Centres and units. It serves 43.56 lakh beneficiaries, increasing from 34 lakh beneficiaries in 2014.
Highlighting the importance of the CGHS wellness centres, Bhubaneswar Kalita, chairman of the committee told ETV Bharat that maximum presence of such health care facilities is very much required.
“In fact, there should be equitable distribution of the CGHS wellness centres in different states. In states like Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh there are only five, four and two CGHS wellness centres respectively. The number of such centres should be increased in big states,” said Kalita.
“We hope the government would definitely look into the suggestions we have provided related to the CGHS wellness centres,” Kalita added.
The committee has found that there are many cities and towns where there are a sizeable number of central government employees, pensioners, and their dependents, but there are no CGHS wellness centres.
“As a result, the beneficiaries, particularly the retired beneficiaries, are required to travel long distances to get medical treatments, causing inconvenience to them. This scenario, apart from being financially draining on the beneficiaries, also causes various other hardships to them,” it said.
The committee is of the view that 18 polyclinics against 43 lakh beneficiaries across the country are insufficient. “Take proactive steps for setting up new CGHS centres and consider exploring setting up wellness centres and polyclinics at a rapid pace in underserved areas, especially the suburbs of large cities where a considerable population of in-service and pensioner beneficiaries reside,” the committee stated in its report.
Stating that the number of CGHS centres and their geographical reach are the main facets, the committee asked the Ministry to ensure that all aspirational districts in the country have CGHS centres and empanelled hospitals.
The Committee has also took note of the poor infrastructure of some wellness centres, including shabby buildings, lack of proper sitting arrangements, lighting facilities, cleanliness, availability of basic amenities,
“The Ministry should periodically review the condition of available infrastructure at wellness centres, and necessary renovation or maintenance work should be carried out in a planned manner. The Ministry should allocate separate and sufficient funds for periodic up-gradation of the wellness centres,” the committee said.
The committee has found that there is a lack of ambulance service at many of the wellness centres. “This is required in critical cases of referrals and emergencies. The Ministry should consider allocating separate funds for arranging at least one ambulance in each wellness centre so that the patient can be taken to the higher medical centre promptly for emergency treatment,” the committee said.
The committee has found that medicines are often not procured promptly, causing inconvenience to the beneficiaries. In many cases, the bid and contract of the Authorized Local Chemist (ALC) is not renewed well in time, and the dispensary is not in a position to supply the medicines.
“Apart from investigating the issues of delay in procurement and subsequent distribution of medicines, the Ministry may bring necessary changes in the guidelines and simplify the procedure for the local purchase of medicines to ensure an uninterrupted supply of medicines,” the committee said.
The Ministry has informed that they had huge liabilities of pending bills. On average, bills amounting to Rs 10 to 12 crore per day are received by CGHS authorities across the country. However, in 2022-23, the government cleared the bills to the tune of Rs 3100 crore, including the pending dues carried forward from 2021-22. In 2023-24, from April to July 2023, bills worth Rs 1468 crore (approx.) have been received by CGHS, out of which payment to the tune of Rs 1672 crore (approx., including the carried forward pending amount) has been made to the hospitals till the August 24 last year.
The committee has asked the ministry to deal with grievances against empanelled hospitals and diagnostic centres for charging exorbitantly and collecting more fees than CGHS rates, in a deterrent manner and initiate prompt penal action against the erring hospital if any irregularity is observed.
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