The Government Homoeopathy Hospital, Ramanthapur, Hyderabad, proposes to levy user charges to meet the rising maintenance cost. The charges to be fixed by a committee appointed for the purpose will vary according to the treatment sought by the increasing number of patients.

Dr B Sohan Singh, Superintendent of the hospital, told newsmen that the collection of user charges had become inevitable in view of the huge expenditure incurred by the government to provide facilities at the hospital. A homoeo college is also attached to the hospital.

The hospital now treats 1,42, 012 patients as against 86,650 in 1996-97. The number of inpatients had gone up to18,308 in 2002 and 14,526 in 2001. The condition of the hospital had improved over the past few years after it was shifted from a rented building in Dilsukhnagar. Now 500 patients visit the hospital daily, as against 200 when it was located on the old premises.

Dr Sohan Singh said the Government of India had released Rs 1.05 crore for the construction of an IPD surgical block, maintenance of the hospital, construction of a medical store building, procurement of hospital equipment and setting up of an external OPD at Gaddiannaram, besides a homoeo pharmacy.

The pharmacy for which the Centre has released Rs 85 lakh is nearing completion. It is likely to be inaugurated within the next two months. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will dedicate the pharmacy to the state. Once fully operational, the pharmacy will not only be able to meet the medical needs of all government homoeo hospitals in the state, but also those located in other parts of the country. It would also help save substantially on the funds spent by the state government in procuring medicines.

Dr Singh, who is the chief coordinator of the extra mural research project on the therapeutic efficacy of BCT on controlling Japanese Encephalitis, is also involved in research on osteo-arthritis and introduction of homoeo medical kits which are useful in the control of communicable diseases.

The doctor lists launching of a programme in 2001 to prevent malaria through homoeo in vulnerable areas of the state as his other major achievement. The state government is promoting the medical kits in a big way in the Social Welfare, BC Welfare and Tribal Welfare departments. He has also designed a family kit of family medicines. About 30,000 such kits are expected to be distributed in villages throughout the state shortly. The travel kits for undertaking overnight journeys is also popular.