DIMAPUR, SEPTEMBER 9 (MExN): The Nagaland Public Rights Awareness and Action Forum (NPRAAF) today while appreciating the CIHSR Director for responding to the former’s press release however said it would have been “more appropriate if, the EHA or the Christian Institute of Health Sciences Research (CIHSR) board speaks out as and when issue comes out in public domain vis-a-vis the hospital.”
A press release from the NPRAAF questioned as to what the phrase "seeking profit does not mean commercializing" means. “What is commercializing without profit?” it asked. It also reiterated that treatment rates should be made even more affordable for poor patients “as the hospital is a venture of EHA, CMC Vellore and Govt. of Nagaland without profit motive as enshrine in the tripartite MoU.” It further termed the proposition of government subsidy as “appalling.”
“Treatment rates does not only mean consultation fee alone. There are various health investigation charges including room rent which requires to be made affordable for poor patients. It is worth mentioning that, a green card is also issued to patient with a charge of Rs 250 for outpatient for priority consultation by the Referral Hospital,” the NPRAAF stated.
The NPRAAF further questioned how a “charitable hospital serving the patients without profit, gives away 3 crores from its annual profit for charity.”
It meanwhile stated that the demand to rectify the MoU was to make “both EHA and CMC accountable for any financial mismanagement.” “Besides the State Government, as all the 3 parties are signatory to the MoU and are jointly running the CIHSR and unless CIHSR is a private property there is no harm in rectifying or deleting clause 1(j) of the MoU at larger interest which states that all legal and financial liabilities that might arise in running of CIHSR will be that of the society,” it added.
It meanwhile also called upon the hospital management to take steps to benefit “more of local patients in the years to come.”
With regard to the employment issue, the forum stated that the numbers in the previous NPRAAF statement “was based on information made available through source and does not include all the menial workers and even though 400 employed are from Nagaland not all are Nagas even as it claimed.”
The NPRAAF added that “it is more important to address the issues NPRAAF raised than merely justify everything by confusing and misleading the Nagas who are primary stakeholders of the hospital.”
The forum also made clear that there are only two members in the board of director to CIHSR as per documents made available to the High Court. “Therefore to say it has equal representation and voting decides matters relating to hospital would be utterly wrong,” it claimed.
The forum also clarified that it does not question the integrity of the serving doctors or the staff at hospital or the health care initiatives of the Referral Hospital elsewhere.
“NPRAAF only said that, referral hospital should not be commercialized and EHA and CMC Vellore should also be made accountable for financial mismanagement and affordable rates for treatment should be made available for poor patient,” it stated.
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