New Delhi: A 24×7 medical assistance, free annual health check-up, cashless hospitalisation, mobile first-aid units, transportation of workers from construction sites to hospitals for check-up, and free OPD and IPD treatment are among medical services that 2.7 lakh registered construction workers of Delhi are likely to start receiving before the end of the year.Delhi govt will engage an agency to roll out Delhi Building Workers Health Scheme to mitigate health risks the workers face owing to the hazardous nature of their work and exposure to extreme weather conditions.Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board has started the process of implementing the scheme, which seeks to ensure timely health screening and accessible healthcare while reducing the financial burden on the workers and their families.Each beneficiary will be entitled to treatment worth up to Rs 2 lakh a financial year, while the maximum coverage for a family will be Rs 10 lakh. The cover will include diagnostics, medicines and hospitalisation. Beneficiaries won’t have to make upfront payments for treatment at empanelled hospitals.Annual health screening will be available for the workers and their spouses. OPD and IPD treatment, however, will be extended to all eligible family members.The agency selected will provide healthcare through empanelled hospitals, clinics and diagnostic laboratories. It will also establish at least six labs across Delhi to process samples collected during annual health check-ups. The workers will have to be given physical copies of their test reports within seven working days of sample collection.Medical vans will visit construction worksites and other designated locations. They will have essential medical equipment, first-aid supplies, emergency medicines and basic life-support facilities. Each van will have a nurse who will assess and provide immediate medical assistance to injured or unwell workers, stabilise them if required and arrange their referral to the nearest empanelled hospital for further treatment. Operating eight to 10 hours daily, each unit is expected to assist 80 to 100 beneficiaries, while also conducting health-scheme awareness activities at construction sites.A digital health record for beneficiaries will be created. Electronic medical records will be accessible through a central cloud-based dashboard developed for the welfare board.In emergencies, including worksite accidents, beneficiaries can seek treatment at the nearest non-empanelled hospital in rarest-of-rare circumstances. Such a facility can be provisionally treated as empanelled for the limited duration and purpose of emergency treatment. Cashless inpatient treatment will be available at empanelled hospitals in general wards or rooms.The board has proposed a project monitoring committee to supervise implementation and administration of the scheme.
