Jammu, 29 June (H.S.): Claiming that repeated appeals to the J&K Government over pending payments had gone unanswered, private hospitals today said they had been pushed to the wall and would stop providing dialysis, chemotherapy and all treatments under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)/SEHAT scheme from July 1.

The J&K Private Hospitals and Dialysis Centres Association (JKPHDCA) said it had repeatedly approached the Government through meetings with officials, press conferences and public appeals but had received only assurances, with no concrete action to clear pending dues.

We have been pushed to the wall. A doctor without medicines is helpless, and a hospital without supplies is just a building. We cannot put patients' lives at risk by pretending we can continue treatment without essential resources, the association said in a statement.

It alleged that payments worth crores of rupees under the Ayushman Bharat/SEHAT scheme had remained pending for nearly three years, forcing hospitals to exhaust their financial resources to continue treating patients.

Sandeep Mengi, President of the J&K Private Hospitals and Dialysis Centres Association (Jammu region), said hospitals had continued providing treatment under the scheme without charging beneficiaries, trusting that the Government would release payments on time.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar