Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Visitors hail withdrawal of entry fee in hospitals

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, JUNE 5. The withdrawal of entry fee during non-visitors hours in government hospitals has come as good news for visitors who throng the city hospitals every day.

Vedha Kandaswamy who visits her sister, who is undergoing treatment in Government General Hospital, said, "Earlier, I had to pay Rs.5 for every two hours. I could not afford such payment as I work as a servant maid. I was quite happy when I came to know about the announcement."

It may be noted that the city hospitals have been managing some of their medical needs with the revenue earned from the entry fee levied for visitors during non-peak hours.

While hospitals such as the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital and the Government Stanley Hospital earned about Rs. 3,000 a day, the income for the Government General Hospital was estimated to be in the range of Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 10,000 a day, according to official sources.

"This not only helped in providing better facilities but also in restricting the crowd," said an official of KMC. Though the revocation of the fee would not hamper the hospital administration, managing the crowd would be a problem, he said. The hospital plans to employ more personnel for the purpose and also give entry passes with time specified, if necessary.

Another official said the income was used to patients' medical care. "We used the fund to maintain hygiene in the hospital premises and provide salary to the contract based sanitary workers."

Officials of other hospitals including the Government Royapettah Hospital and GGH were unavailable for comment.

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