Port Blair, Nov 05: Mr. Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Member of Parliament appreciating for quality services provided by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration to the Islanders, especially to the patients undergoing medical treatment by the Andaman Guest Houses at Chennai and Kolkata has brought to the notice of the Lt Governor that most of the poor patients who hails from small villages of Andaman and Nicobar islands generally travels to major cities like Chennai & Kolkata for their treatment on referrals or at their own cost at hospitals which are located in these cities and stay at above Andaman Guest houses.
Mr. Sharma has further stated that based on the type & stage of illness of diseases viz. cancer and heart, certain number of people require hospitalisation, whereas other patients may merely require regular visit for chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment.
Such patients have to stay in the city for a longer period, in such situation the poor & downtrodden patients the islands who are undergoing endemic illness can’t afford the costly accommodation charges offered by the metro city with their accompanies/attendants as many of them belong to BPL category. There have been instances of patients discontinuing treatment for lack of affordable lodging options to return to their native places without full treatment.
Since the patients undergoing treatments for the major contagious & non –contagious disease are not been allowed to stay for more than 07 days in Andaman Guest House at Chennai & Kolkata, due to which they are facing tremendous difficulties, as they have to arrange private accommodation for their stay which is an extra financial burden to the patients.
Accordingly to redress this intricacy, Mr. Shrama has requested the Administrator to kindly look into the matter for allowing poor patients as well as accompanying family members to stay at Andaman Guest House, Chennai & Kolkata for a reasonable time at nominal charges as fixed by the A&N Administration for the Islanders in the best interest of humanity.
