BOKARO : Amidst the government’s directive to all (including hospitals) to ensure cashless payment facility, Bokaro General Hospital (BGH) yet to link the patients with this ambitious scheme; likely to linger further.
A month after the demonetisation move, many small and medium businesses shifted to digital transactions across the Bokaro district, BGH yet to provide such facilities to its outdoor patients.
“We have faced very hard time at BGH as the hospital lacks with digital payment facility, said Chandan a resident of Hirapur at Dhanbad. A few days earlier we rushed to BGH at midnight with my aunt, sustaining burn injuries. She was immediately admitted at casualty and the hospital authority asked us to deposit payment in cash, he said. We do not have much cash that time, even my ATM card was useless (at the time) as the government and RBI set the maximum withdrawal limit from ATMs at Rs2,500, said Chandan.
“We faced very tough at that night. The cashier said we will accept cash only as we do not have any other means to accept payment. Then at night I called my two friends at Dhanbad to come at Bokaro with cash.
Another patient A Rnajan and his family members faced the similar situation. He was made with an accident and rushed to BGH where doctors referred him to ICU and the hospital authority asked his ward to deposit approx Rs45 thousand in cash. ‘It was very tough time but managed with the help of my several friends who rushed immediately to hospital’, said Krishna his elder brother.
BGH is one of the largest (910 bed) hospital of the country equipped with modern and sophisticated medical equipment including all essential infrastructures. Run by BSL, the hospital has an influx of patients not only from Jharkhand but Bihar and West Bengal too.
According to an estimate, everyday about 500 patients (except BSL employee) rushed to the BGH for consultancy while 40,000 patients admitted to the hospital with the different ailment and accidental case yearly, said an official.
The BGH is equipped with latest machines like Immunoanalyser ,Yag Laser machine, Automated Coagulation and Urine Analyzer, Flexivision HB with DSA (Digital Subtraction Angiography)— a latest generation X-ray System, ‘phaco-emulsification machine’, ‘Green Light Lasers Machine’, Automatic Retinal Digital Camera (ARDC) and Visual Field Analyzer (VFA), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine which is one of the best machine in the eastern region of the country. BGH also has an Eye Bank.
Recently after the government’s directives to all to adopt ‘cashless transaction’ medium and to promote the same on wider perspectives, we are afraid that why BGH is delaying in opting the option, said Vinod a JMM party worker.
After the demonetisation move, mobile wallets and other digital methods continue to see a rise in transactions across the city, said Krishna adding “ there is an urgent need of cashless transaction at BGH, the BSL management should immediately start the digital transaction option there”.We are on move to provide cashless transaction facility at BGH, it may take few more time, said MK Dhan PRO Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL).
