Bhubaneswar: The state government will provide free and immediate treatment to accident victims at three private hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack to curb deaths during the “golden hour” (the one-hour period following an accident).
The three private hospitals are Apollo Hospitals and AMRI in Bhubaneswar and Ashwini Hospital in Cuttack.
“The state government will bear the medical expenses of accident victims for 48 hours after their admission into these three hospitals,” Health Secretary Pramod Kumar Meherda said while announcing the scheme on Saturday.
“In the next phase, the state government will include private hospitals in Sambalpur, Rourkela and Berhampur to provide treatment to accident victims,” the secretary added.
As per the health department guidelines, immediate treatment will be provided after a road accident victim is rushed to the nearest private trauma care centre in the designated hospitals.
On their part, the hospitals will intimate the Directorate of Medical and Technical Education (DMET) about the arrival of such patients. They will also have to submit documents detailing the costs of examination and treatment. DMET will reimburse the claims within a week.
Sources said the state transport department has given Rs 4 crore to the health department to launch the initiative.
