Mumbai: Top doctors in city to visit jails and treat inmates

Next week, a meeting will be organised with the jail authorities to finalise the requirements. Representational Pic

By the end of this month, jail authorities in the state would be able to summon medical specialists from five-star, trust-run hospitals under the Charity Commission, to treat inmates. Officials from the Association of Hospitals last week held a meeting with the charity commissioner to pen down the protocols for the visits. Next week, a meeting will be organized with the jail authorities to finalise the requirements. Additional director general of prisons, BK Upadhyay, confirmed the development.

Meeting held
"We held a meeting with the officials from Association of Hospitals to discuss the protocols that need to be followed for arranging health camps in jails or providing treatment to inmates. But, we need a few more meetings before we finalise the points," said charity commissioner Shivkumar Dige.

On February 12, in 'Top private docs will now treat prisoners,' mid-day was the first to report about the first-of-its kind initiative. Maharashtra has over 30,000 prisoners across 54 jails, who are so far being taken to government- run hospitals for treatment.

Every day, around 50 inmates from major jails in and around Mumbai are taken to government hospitals for treatment accompanied by police. This often increases the burden on the already short-staffed hospitals and this also delays their treatment.

Provide treatment
But that will cease to be the case by the end of this month, as the inmates would be treated by specialist doctors from over 400 corporate hospitals across the state with 74 such hospitals like Jaslok, Nanavati, Lilavati, Hinduja, Wockhardt in Mumbai.

Dige had previously said that corporate hospitals under charity commission are supposed to provide 25 per cent of their resources for the treatment of below poverty line patients and other special cases. For this initiative, they have been asked to provide treatment to prisoners on outpatient basis under the same reserved quota.

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