Indian Railways currently has 125 major hospitals. Along with this 586 health units are also working. More than 30 thousand employees work in these hospitals and health units.
The recommendation of the Union Finance Ministry is
The recommendation of handing over railway hospitals to private hands (PPP) has been made by the Union Finance Ministry. A report has been prepared by Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Adviser (PEA), Ministry of Finance. In the same, it has been said that there is a huge shortage of health services providers in railway hospitals across the country. After this, it has been decided in the Cabinet Secretariat that now all rail hospitals and polyclinics operated by the Ministry of Railways should be operated on PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model. Apart from railway employees, other people will also be treated in these hospitals.
These hospitals will run on PPP formula
A senior official associated with the central government said that in order to rationalize the government departments, it has been decided to run all the hospitals and health units of the railways under the Public-Private Partnership. He says that this will also provide better facilities in railway hospitals and they will be upgraded.
125 big hospitals near railway
Railways currently have 125 major railway hospitals. Along with this 586 health units are also working. More than 30 thousand employees work in these hospitals and health units. The government says that the staff in these hospitals is not complete, but the machines and health equipment there are not of the new age. Barring the central hospitals of each zonal railway, even 50 per cent of patients are not admitted against the capacity in other hospitals.
Against the interest of railways and the interest of the country
M Raghavaiah, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR), a recognized union of railways, says that this decision of the government is not only in the interest of the railways, it is also not in the interest of the country. He says that even when the Rakesh Mohan Committee report came about 20 years ago, the same recommendation was made about railway hospitals. At that time, this could not happen after the opposition of the union. Now again a new decision has been taken on the basis of the same report. This will not only harm the railway employees, but the country will also suffer. He says that non-railway workers are still treated in railway hospitals.
