Hospitals to decide on consultation charges: Himachal CM Sukhu

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said that it isn’t mandatory for hospitals to levy Rs 10 as consultation charge from patients. “The Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) of each hospital can levy Rs 10 as consultation charge if it needs resources for services like sanitation and maintenance (of infrastructure and equipment). If the RKS feels it has sufficient funds, it doesn’t need to levy these charges,” said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

It may be mentioned here that the notification issued by Secretary Health had mentioned that “it has been decided to charge consultation fee of Rs 10 from all patients at the time of registration in the hospital. Further, health officials had been requested to take necessary action in the matter.

Sukhu, however, said that that the government had not imposed the decision to levy consultation charges on hospitals.

“A Cabinet Sub-committee has recommended that hospitals can levy charges to generate income to carry out services like sanitation and maintenance,” said Sukhu. “It’s for the respective RKS to decide whether or not it wants to implement consultation charges,” he said.