Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain tweeted on December 12 that the Delhi Government will bear the expenses required for the treatment of road accident, fire accident and acid attack victims in private hospitals. The scheme was first announced on March 10.

Cabinet approved policy to bear all expenses of treatment of victims of road accidents, fire and acid attacks in Delhi in private hospitals

— Satyendar Jain (@SatyendarJain) December 12, 2017

The Delhi cabinet in a meeting chaired by Arvind Kejriwal has approved the scheme where the government will pick up the tab for the expenses of treatment of accident victims in a private hospital, the Health Minister said. He also mentioned that there is not going to be an upper cap on the expenses to be borne.

“The move is aimed at saving lives of such people during the golden hour after accidents on Delhi’s roads, be it road accident, fire and acid attacks,” Jain told reporters at a press conference.

After the approval of the scheme by the Cabinet, Kejriwal said, “Every life counts. Every life is important to us. If an accident victim receives best medical care immediately, many lives could be saved.”

They say that many people try to take the victims to government hospitals even after the private hospitals are closer. Hence, to save the “Golden Hour” this decision has been taken. The proposal will now be sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval.

Another policy in place

The Delhi government in January implemented the “Good Samaritan” policy too. According to this, if a person takes an accident victim to the hospital then they are entitled to Rs. 2000. The government thinks that with these two policies in place, death due to accidents can be reduced in the city.

Delhi witnesses about 8,000 accidents every year with about 15,000 to 20,000 victims. Almost 1,600 people die every year because of accidents.