100 per cent increase in registration fee at Lucknow’s Lohia Hospital

Patients seeking treatment at the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Lucknow will now have to pay Rs 100 for registration and treatment, as against the current charge of rupee one.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, had made the treatment at the hospital, which is part of the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, at rupee one registration fee, in order to help the underprivileged. So the patients were examined by doctors and were given requisite medicines. While the scheme is till in vogue, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Yogi Adityanath has decided to increase the fee to Rs 100.

Lohia Hospital was established in 1991 and outdoor patients’ department was started in 1998, while indoor patients’ department was started in 2000.

The decision to charge Rs 100, will come into effect from September 1, 2021, following an agreement at the time of merger of the hospital with the Institute of Medical Sciences in 2019, that the medical services in one rupee will continue only for two years.

The opposition parties in the state have demanded that the government should not increase the registration fee to Rs 100.