Mamata government mulling fair price diagnostic centres

Kolkata, March 4 - After setting up fair price shops selling generic medicines well below the market price, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday said her government is mulling establishing fair price diagnostic centres in the state.

Like the fair price medicine shops, we are planning to open fair price diagnostic centres at various locations, Banerjee said on her Facebook profile.

She also appealed to the medical community to support the initiative.

I would like to appeal to the doctors in the government hospitals and also to the medical community to extend their support for the cause of common people, so that they can buy medicines at affordable rates from fair price medicine shops and save their precious money, Banerjee wrote on the social networking site.

The fair price shops operating through public-private partnership have been selling generic drugs at a whopping rebate on the maximum retail price -.

Out of 35 fair price medicine shops targeted, 24 have already been opened at various locations at medical colleges, state hospitals, district hospitals and few sub-divisional hospitals.

In general, cost of medicines constitutes about 50-80 percent of the cost of treatment. Common people are most often unable to afford high cost of medicines and are thus worst affected. The Fair Price Medicine shops will come of great help in this regard, said Banerjee.