Kolkata: Even as Ayushman Bharat patient count has started rising across private hospitals in Kolkata, the first high-end procedure under the scheme was performed on Saturday. A 34-year-old Kolkata resident, admitted on Friday, underwent an aortic valve replacement — an expensive, life-saving and high-end cardiac procedure — at Charnock Hospital.Patient Dipankar Singh, admitted under cardiothoracic surgeon Saptarshi Roy, was the first local patient to have a cardiac implant since Ayushman was rolled out in Bengal on Aug 16. While the package cost Rs 2.5 lakh under the scheme, the implant cost another Rs 1 lakh.“Cardiac ailments and therapies are getting complex, evolved and high-priced. New technologies are offering non-invasive treatments. These include structural treatments like TAVI and TAVR. Schemes like Ayushman Bharat can solve this challenge by providing solutions to patients who otherwise would not be able to afford such treatments,” said Prashant Sharma, MD of Charnock Hospital.While several hospitals witnessed a slow but steady rise in Ayushman admissions, the Ayushman Bharat portal has been slowing down the admission process at many facilities. Hospitals saw around 10 patients getting admitted under the scheme in Kolkata on the first day. The number of admissions spiralled to around 50 across six to eight city hospitals till Saturday.Lalita Mandal (51) was one of the first to get admitted under Ayushman Bharat at Ruby General Hospital on Aug 17 and was discharged the next day. She was admitted with a cardiac condition and underwent an angiography. The woman from Fatullapur village in Baduria came to the hospital with chest pain on Monday morning.“We have also started radiotherapy and chemotherapy on Ayushman patients. While we have received a few patients who have already got their Ayushman cards, the rest are dropping in with Swasthya Sathi cards. We are checking on the portal if they have been switched to Ayushman. Those converted are being admitted under Ayushman and the rest are still being treated as Swasthya Sathi patients. The online process is taking time,” said Ruby chief general manager (operations) Subhashis Datta.BP Poddar Hospital has admitted five patients so far, though none has undergone any procedure. Desun Hospital has admitted one so far. CMRI CK Birla Hospital has earmarked beds for Ayushman and is close to completing its admission and system integration processes. “We are empanelled under the scheme,” said Sombrata Ray, zonal head.
