Hyderabad: Twenty-eight-year-old post-graduate gynaecology student from Osmania Medical College, Dr Swapna M., is on ventilator support as she is suffering from carcinoma meningitis, a severe inflammation in the brain.

She is undergoing treatment at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences.

The OGH Junior Doctors’ Association have now come together to appeal to the health minister and also Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to include serving junior doctors in the Employees Health Insurance Scheme.

Read: Doctors not paid, may go on strike

M. Srinivas, president of OGH JUDA said, “We are asking for health insurance because whenever we fall ill, we too have to incur basic diagnostic costs and medicinal expenses. In the case of Swapna, her family has already spent Rs 3 lakh for tests because the cancer could not be detected initially. The final test, of taking liquid from the brain, determined the cancer.

Hailing from a middle class family in Belampally, Swapna’s father is a retired schoolteacher and has used all his resources for her treatment. Six months ago, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was on anti-TB drugs.
Junior doctor Abhilash K. said, “The anti-TB drugs were not giving the desired result. Due to that reason, she underwent a lot of tests but the cancer could not be detected. The family spent the money and we also got some funds from the JUDA association to help her out. Her situation now is making us think that we must ask the government for health insurance as we are working in the public sector for almost eight years of our learning life.”

The expenses of vaccination for working in hospitals are also met by the junior doctors themselves. Senior professors are very particular that junior doctors comply with the immunisation norms. And for complicated diseases too they have to bear the expenses on their own.

In 2004, Rs 500 per doctor was collected from their stipend for an insurance scheme but it was abruptly stopped. M. Imran, another junior doctor said, “Paying a premium from our salaries is not an issue. We only want coverage under the government scheme so that in case of eventualities we know that some expenses will be covered.” For Swapna, the OGH JUDA team has met with the MLA of Belampally, Durgam Chenaiya, and Health Minister, Laxma Reddy, requesting them to get money from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for her treatment