Hyderabad: After each major road accident, when the media frenzy dies down, the victim’s family suffers with financial burden of hospital bills.
The guidelines issued by the Supreme Court Committee on road safety had asked the Telangana government to ensure free treatment for road mishap victims in private hospitals. However, nothing has been done in this regard.
When 10-year-old Ramya and her two relatives were rushed to hospital soon after the road crash which was caused by a drunk driver at Banjara Hills, the government declared that they would provide financial help. However, her family members say government only paid 40 per cent of the bills, that ran into lakhs of rupees.
“Because I could not afford the rest of the amount alone, I had to take financial help from my relatives and friends,” said Ramya’s father P. Venkat Ramana.
In Sanjana’s case, the government has promised to treat her under Aarogyasri scheme. However, her mother is not yet sure if it would cover the cost of the treatment.
“It is high time the government understand the gravity of the issue and made sure private hospital give free treatment to road crash victims,” said Founder of ‘Indian Federation of Road Safety’, Vinod Kumar Kanumala.
Officials from health, medical and family welfare department say that the government has not issued any order on this regard. “So far, we have no clarity on this matter,” said Hyderabad district medical and health officer Dr K. Padmaja.
