In a bid to make health infrastructure accessible to all, the government is working on an unprecedented move to open Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) hospitals for the public.
According to an official communication, under Ayushman CAPF, all hospitals must be open for the public. This will also help serve the needs of people in areas that are remotely located and far from cities.
According to government sources, Home Minister Amit Shah recently talked about boosting health infrastructure in border and remote areas during a meeting with top officials.
Now, all forces have been asked to publicise this and local units have been asked to visit villages nearby and make people aware of the move.
Security forces have been asked to make a dedicated area for the public which does not hamper the security apparatus. Also, it has been ordered that dedicated camps must be organised to encourage people to visit CAPF hospitals, especially in tough areas mainly situated along the borders.
Arrangements will be made to ensure security as all hospitals and other health infrastructure of the police forces are situated inside the restricted area.
Currently, the public is not allowed in force hospitals except in emergency cases but forces do organise medical camps in remote areas like Ladakh, J&K, and Naxal-hit areas.
The decision has also been taken in view of development of border villages. The residents of border villages often have to travel for long hours and come to the city area for treatment due to lack of health infrastructure. Though forces help these residents, the health infrastructure is not completely open for them.
Officials aware of the development told News18 that there are hospitals in remote areas which have very less footfall as deployment of forces is not very high. Also, due to the change in security system in few states, requirement of central forces has decreased and infrastructure can be used for the general public.
The Home Ministry has also asked all forces to give feedback of Ayushman CAPF and report any issues that jawans or their families are facing so that the matter can be taken up with the agency or ministry concerned.
A few months ago it was noticed that some hospitals empanelled with the Ayushman CAPF scheme were wrongfully and excessively charging jawans and their families. Such hospitals were found to be directly charging the personnel, which is illegal, and then raising the bills with the National Health Authority (NHA).
The health insurance scheme, which is a joint initiative of the Home Ministry and the NHA, is completely cashless and, hence, it is wrong to charge beneficiaries any amount for medical treatment or services.
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