Question : Free Treatment in OPDs

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:
(a) whether as per the existing norms, Private Hospitals are supposed to reserve 25% quota for providing free treatment to patients in the Outdoor Patient Department and 10% quota to admit poor patients, if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether private hospitals utilise reserved quota beds into paid categories on the pretext of having no vacancy;
(c) if so, whether the Government is having any monitoring mechanism to verify the authenticity of the claims made by the private hospitals;
(d) if so, the details thereof;and
(e) whether the Government is having any proposal to cancel the licences of the private hospitals for not implementing the norms prescribed by the Government, if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) As per Constitutional provisions, ‘Health’ is a State subject. It is within the domain of State/Union Territory (UT) Government to ensure that hospitals that are given land at concessional rates provide free treatment to the poor. Since this is a State matter, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare does not maintain details in this regard.
As per Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, for grant of registration under the Act, the private hospitals located in the State/UTs wherever, the said Act is applicable, are required to comply with the minimum standards. National Council for clinical establishments has approved minimum standards for hospitals, which among other norms also include list of legal requirements to be complied with by a hospital as made applicable by the local/State health authority.



(b) to (d) Health being a State subject, no such information is maintained centrally. It is for the respective State/UT Government to have monitoring mechanism to verify the authenticity of the claims made by the private hospital and take necessary corrective action accordingly.

(e) Under the CE Act, 2010, the district registering authority has the power to cancel the registration (licences) of the private hospital, if conditions of registration are not being complied with. Health being a State subject, it is within the ambit of the respective State/UT Government to implement the provisions of the Act and Rules there under.