The Gujarat government on May 9 announced that henceforth it will provide free treatment for the first 48 hours to all the victims of road accidents admitted to any government or private hospital in the state.
 

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who also handles the Health portfolio, made the announcement here. The government would bear the medical expenses of up to Rs 50,000 of each victim, he said. People of other states or even citizens of other countries will also be given free treatment if they meet with a road accident in Gujarat, he added. "The move is aimed at providing timely and better treatment and thereby minimising the loss of life due to accidents," Patel said.

The scheme will be applicable to anyone who meets with a road accident anywhere in Gujarat. "The first 48 hours are very crucial for an accident victim. It is a general tendency that accident victims are first taken to a government hospital or a health centre, which may not have a specialist doctor or required facilities," Patel told reporters. "In such a scenario, the patient is then shifted to a private hospital. This consumes valuable time. Ambulance operators or volunteers hesitate to take the patient to a private hospital first, despite the fact that they are more in number and they also have better facilities," he said.

"Therefore, we have decided to implement a system wherein even private hospitals will not take any charge up to Rs 50,000 for the first 48 hours of treatment of any accident victim. The government will reimburse that amount (to the hospital). This initiative will save many lives," Patel said. "People of other states or even citizens of other countries will also be given free treatment if they meet with an accident in Gujarat," Patel said, adding that there is no income criteria attached with this scheme, which will be implemented in a few days across the state.

On an average, 29,300 accidents take place every year in Gujarat, while over 6,400 die in such accidents, Patel said adding, "If we provide timely treatment, we can save many lives. We will instruct private hospitals to start giving free treatment and submit their bills to our officials for reimbursement."