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If it wasn’t for Rajasthan’s health department, 1,002 children from poor families diagnosed with a heart defect would not have survived.
From 2014 till now, 1,002 children were provided free heart surgery in the state. Most of these children had parents who couldn’t afford to pay for their surgery.
Earlier, the department used to provide ₹60,000 to ₹1.6 lakh per surgery in private hospitals under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK).
But now, the upper limit has been extended to ₹2 lakh.
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The health department has now also empanelled ten new hospitals for these surgeries, reports The Times of India.
Only two government hospitals in the state have conducted surgeries for children with heart defects, which is why the health department has empanelled private hospitals.
There are now a total of 15 private hospitals that conduct such surgeries - eight in Jaipur, two each in Bharatpur and Udaipur, and one each in Jodhpur, Kota and Ajmer, reports TOI.
The health department conducts regular screening of children in government schools, anganwadis and madrasas, to see if they have any disorder. They identify those that might have a heart defect and conduct diagnostic tests. The department then helps those diagnosed with a disease in getting free treatment at the hospital.