Maharashtra State Health Department plans to rope 45 NGOs with doctors to locate TB patients

Mumbai: The state health department is planning to rope in 45 NGOs to work with private doctors to find tuberculosis (TB) patients and put them under treatment. The NGOs will also be called ‘patient-provider support agencies’.

Patients to remain under supervision until they finish medical course

This comes after the authorities learnt that most of the patients do not seek treatment from private doctors, clinics and hospitals compared to patients seeking treatment at state and civic-run hospitals. The patients will remain under the supervision of health staff until they finish the six-month treatment protocol.

BMC plans to start centres for drug-resistant TB patients

To make tuberculosis (TB) treatment more accessible, the BMC is planning to start centres at private hospitals for drug-resistant TB patients. The initiative is part of the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). A senior official said they have invited expressions of interest and will hold a meeting with hospitals that are willing to start the centres.

Aim: Building a private-public partnership

A senior health official from the civic health department said the aim is to build private-public partnerships so that patients going to private hospitals can continue doing so and still benefit from the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) that provides free medicines.

“The cost of drugs for multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) could go up to ₹25,000 per month and medicines have to be taken for two years without fail. Many patients start treatment in private set-ups but cannot afford it after a point,” he said.

The partnership will ensure that patients seeking care in the private sector also receive diagnostic, treatment, and patient care services as per standardised Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (PMDT) guidelines.