DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Haryana Government has decided to provide free health facilities like radiological tests to HIV patients in the state under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. Thus, the HIV patients have been included in seven categories of the State which are being provided various health facilities free of cost under PPP mode. Sharing information in this regard, an official spokesperson of the Health Department informed that the Chief Minister Manohar Lal has approved a proposal to this effect. Thus, all the laboratory and radiological tests, including USG, CT Scan and MRI which are provided in Government Hospitals under PPP mode will be available free of cost to HIV patients. Listing the categories, the spokesperson said in Haryana these seven categories namely, BPL and Urban Slum patients of Haryana, Patients receiving Handicap Allowance from the State Government, Poor patient who do not belong to any free category, patients belonging to SC category, patients belonging to economically weaker section, unattended victim of roadside accident, and State Government Employees, Pensioners, and Dependents are being provided services under PPP mode free of cost at various health facilities as per the reservation policy. He stated that HIV patients have been included in it as the eighth category. Sharing more information in this regard he elaborated that at present around 22,000 patients suffering from HIV are taking Antiretroviral Therapy (ART). In addition, there is also an increase of approximately 300 patients per month. As per the information received from ART Centre, PGIMS, Rohtak, the requirement of radiological investigations for HIV patients is approximately only about 2 to 3 per cent of the total number of such patients. Thus, about 700 to 800 HIV patients in the State would require radiological investigations during their management on yearly basis. Moreover, on the basis of the present prevailing rates of various radiological investigations in the Centres being run under PPP mode at various public health facilities in the State the estimate of the expenditure will be about Rs 70 lakh per patient per annum. The spokesperson said that the approximate budget of such investigations being provided to the seven categories free of cost under PPP mode by the State Government is Rs 45 crore. He added that the expenditure of Rs 70 lakh per annum per patient to be spent on HIV patients may be met from the existing funds. (editor@dailyworld.in)