Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddharamaiah on Saturday, warned private medical establishments of criminal action if they refuse to hand over bodies to family, insisting on payments of medical bills.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 250-bed Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research and Trauma Care Centres in the premises of PKTB Sanatorium on KRS Road here yesterday.
Warning private hospitals of filing criminal cases against them if they harass the families of patients to settle the bills if the patient dies, Siddharamaiah said that free treatment will be available for members of families with BPL Ration Cards and at 30 percent discount for families with APL cards in private hospitals.
Announcing a branch of Kidwai Cancer Institute for Mysuru and a Kidney Transplant Centre at the Mysuru branch of Institute of Nephro-Urology, the CM also declared to provide MRI scaners at all district hospitals and dialysis units at taluk hospitals.
Pointing out that 1.43 crore BPL families will benefit from Suvarna Arogya Karnataka Health Scheme and all of them would get health cards, which provide free medical care in all Government and private hospitals.
Claiming that after the rule of Mysuru Maharajas, his Government was the one which contributed the most for the development of Mysuru, Siddharamaiah maintained that the congress Government had released Rs. 5,000 crore to Mysuru district over the last five years for development works. Stating that the Government is considering setting up another Jayadeva Hospital Unit at Hubballi, the CM thanked Jayadeva Institute Director Dr. C.N. Manjunath and other staff for their efforts in the setting up of the centre.
Continuing, the CM said that the Government has sanctioned Rs. 20 crore for PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan facility in K.R. Hospital. The Government will release more funds to facilitate advanced Robotic surgery in the State, he added.
Ministers Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Tanveer Sait and Dr. Geetha Mahadevaprasad, MP R. Dhruvanarayan, MLAs M.K. Somashekar, H.P. Manjunath and Kalale Keshavamurthy, Mayor B. Bhagyavathi, Deputy Mayor M. Indira, Coporator Shivamadu, KEA Chairman B. Siddaraju and ZAK Chairperson Mallige Veeresh were present.
I think if they refuse to release the dead body, the relatives and public should cremate the body in the hospital itself! With whatever rules of the religion . Courts should grant that right to the relatives of the dead as though it was the last wish just imagine Apollo hospital room set on fire for the funeral of a dead person who could not pay the bill!