The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) general body on Friday approved the scheme to pay Rs 10,000 to hospitals on behalf of accident victims seeking emergency medical service during the golden hour so that lives are saved, even as it extended the ambit of the beneficiaries from road accidents to all kind of accidents that take place in the civic jurisdiction. Officials said the definition of ?all kinds of accidents? includes accident by fire, a citizen falling from tree, getting electricity shock and similar such accidents.
The civic body had announced the introduction of the scheme in the annual budget for 2010-11, while making a provision of Rs 25 lakh for the year. However, the administration tabled the proposal for the implementation of the scheme. Corporator Siddarth Dhende urged the civic body not to limit the scheme for victims of road accidents and include all kind of accidents.
Though most of the elected representatives extended support to the fresh demand, corporator Ujjwal Keskar said the number of persons losing life in road accidents was on the rise in the city due to delay in providing emergency aid. The scheme was planned to ensure that private hospitals don?t deny medication to the victims of road accident due to lack of payment.
?The civic body can launch similar schemes for other accidents and the purpose of the tabled scheme will be lost if it is extended to other accidents,? he said. NCP corporator Anil Bhosale said the general body should postpone the decision on the proposal for a month for a detailed discussion on it.
Another NCP leader Dilip Barate said the proposal should be passed with immediate effect as enough discussions on it have taken place and the scheme is in the interest of the public. BJP corporator Vikas Mathkari said the budgetary provision is too less and only 250 victims would benefit from it. ?The civic body should tie up with insurance company so that more citizens can benefit from the scheme,? he added.
Leader of House Nilesh Nikam, who had proposed the scheme in the budget, said the idea behind the scheme was to ensure that no life of accident victim is lost due to delay in emergency medical service by private hospitals. As per the scheme, the civic body has put a condition that the patient should shift to any of the civic or government hospital for further treatment within next 24 hours of the accident.