GUWAHATI: The Right to Health constitutional guarantee is costing the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital dear when it comes to offering treatment to ailing prisoners.
Under this fundamental right, many prisoners are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the state, which are running up huge bills.
The GMCH has also run up a bill of nearly Rs 12 lakh on the treatment of under-trials and convicted prisoners since 2018.
Assam’s inspector general (prison), Barnali Sharma, said, “Medical facilities are provided to prisoners.
There are medical officers in each jail.
If the health condition of any prisoner deteriorates, the prisoner is referred to a hospital for better medical assistance on the advice of prison medical officers.” She added that a prisoner receives treatment at a hospital till he or she recovers and is discharged by the medical authority.
“They are treated as normal human beings and we try to ensure that they avail the Right to Health granted by the Constitution of India under Article 21.” Sometimes prisoners are also referred from one hospital to another bigger hospital for better medical assistance, if needed.
“Till date, many prisoners have recovered and returned to their respective jails,” she said.
At present there are 10 prisoners, booked under different laws, undergoing treatment in various government hospitals.
Among them, two are undergoing treatment at the GMCH, four in Tinsukia, two in Dhubri and one each in Karbi Anglong and Nagaon.
The two at GMCH have been put up in pay cabins while the rest are in general wards, where the stay is free.
They are Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, who was arrested in December 2019 for his alleged role in inciting people in the movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act, and police officer Kumar Sanjit Krishna, who was arrested for his involvement in the Assam Police SI exam paper leak case last year.
GMCH sources said that before allotting a pay cabin, various formalities have to be completed, including getting permission from the medical board.
A source at GMCH said jail authorities started reimbursing hospital bills only after 2018.
Prior to that, GMCH got no payment from the jail authorities.
“But more than Rs 12 lakh is yet to be paid to the GMCH by the jail authorities.
The hospital has not been paid for the medicines, beds or pay cabins,” the sources added.
A health department source agreed that prolonged stay in pay cabins may cause considerable loss to the GMCH.
“The daily charge of a cabin is Rs 1,000 where Akhil and Krishna are undergoing treatment for multiple ailments.
It may take a while before they fully recover and are discharged,” the source said.
GMCH sources added that though they have received payments for Sanjit Krishna, for Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil, a huge sum of money still remains unpaid for almost a year.
“Neither the jail authorities nor the family of Akhil Gogoi has paid anything for his cabin stay.
Only on humanitarian grounds he is being allowed to stay in the pay cabin,” said hospital sources.
They added that Akhil, who was admitted in a new pay cabin on July 12 last year, has been undergoing regular follow up treatment.
“He was having problems like sleep disturbance, anxiety issues and depression.
Though his backache is said to be improving, his right kidney has a stone.
It was detected in May.
He is awaiting further advice,” the sources added.
Sanjit Krishna, too, has been treated by doctors from multiple departments and is said to be ‘presently not fit to be discharged’.
Krishna was admitted in the general ward of GMCH on January 2 but shifted to a pay cabin on January 7 on security grounds and also in the interest of other general ward patients.
A Gauhati High Court advocate on condition of anonymity said, “Nobody can prevent a prisoner from availing the Right to Health.
The Prisoners’ Act has not defined any time period regarding how many days a prisoner can stay in a hospital.
A prisoner can stay in a hospital till he recovers.” The advocate, however, said that the practice of taking advantage of such provisions cannot be ruled out.
“A prisoner can stay in a hospital till he or she does not get the discharge letter,” the advocate said.