Addressing a press conference in Mantralaya today, Health minister Dr Daulat Aher said that a bill providing fine upto Rs 2 lakh for erring hospital managements will be introduced in the winter session of the state legislature.

``The government has started recommending poor patients to private hospitals. Two were operated at Jaslok hospital and two have been admitted at Bombay hospital. However, there should be more response from the private hospitals. The government will initiate action under section 41-A of the Charitable Trusts Act against the hospital managements who refuse to operate poor patients. The present act provides for a fine of Rs 2,000, which is inadequate. We will introduce a revised bill to increase the fine so that they take the scheme seriously,'' Aher said.

The scheme announced last Dassera, October 11, 1997 provided that patients suffering fromserious ailments of heart, kidney and brain be operated at either government run or private hospitals statewide. However, a group of private hospital managements had moved the Bombay High Court challenging the validity of the scheme. The HC had stayed implementation of the scheme, which forced the state government to move the Supre Court. The SC, on August 21, 1998, vacated the stay on the scheme and the government announced implementation of the scheme at private hospitals also. Since then, there has not been any favourable response from these hospitals, Aher said.

Till today, the state government received 4,132 applications under the scheme, out of which 519 were invalid. So far, 1,155 patients have been operated under the schemes at government hospitals against only 2 at private hospitals. The operations are mostly involving heart ailments, four are related to brain and two are kidney transplants. A total of 180 patients have been referred to private hospitals so far.

Referring to other subjects, Ahersaid the state government has saved Rs 8.79 crore while purchasing different medicare equipments and drugs since 1995. He added that various measures were being initiated to control irregularities. They include engraving MS (for Maharashtra State) on all tablets and embossing the same on all capsules supposed to be supplied to government-run hospitals. Also, the capsules will bear a saffron and green stripe on them to ensure they are not sold in open market. The minister added that 11 medical officers from different parts of the state have been suspended for negligence of duty and 10 companies supplying material to hospitals have been blacklisted for not maintaining required quality. He said the government has substancially reduced prices of five life saving intra-venous (IV) fluids to help the poor.