At a time when villagers, daily wage labourers and small traders across the country are being exhorted by the Centre to go digital, government hospitals in even big cities are refusing to accept credit cards, making a mockery of the aggressive push to go cashless Despite various state governments issuing directives to stateand municipality-run hospitals to promote digital payments, an overwhelming majority of these are yet to install card swipe machines.While doctors and health department officials insist that treatment of poor is largely free of cost, and the absence of swipe machines and digital payment facilities is not making an impact, a reality check by TOI revealed that cash payments for medicines and suchlike was the norm, leaving poor cashless patients, already hit by demonetisation , in dire straits. While PM Narendra Modi recently said that he wanted Gujarat to become a model state in adopting digital financial transactions, the situation in his home state is far from encouraging.Bhavik Soni, in the queue at Punjab National Bank in Ahmedabad, told TOI, “My sister-in-law is undergoing a heart surgery but the hospital (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital) does not accept payment through debit card. I am standing in queue since early morning to withdraw Rs 20,000 cash.“The situation is no better in the national capital, where even the biggest government hospitals, barring the country's premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences, are yet to install card machines.People in long queues at ATMs at these hospitals are a common sight. Seventeen-year-old Nishant Rai of Delhi said, “I had to stand in queue outside an ATM for two hours to pay for my uncle's CT scan at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital. They don't have a card swiping machine.“True, most governmentrun hospitals offer free treatment. But the cost of medicines and basic tests varies, and nearly everybody is required to pay in cash for diagnostic tests such as CT scan and MRI. They also have to pay for medicines not avai lable in hospitals' drug stores. A patient at a government hospital in Kolkata said, “Even medical stores near the hospitals are not accepting Rs 2000 notes for want of change. They're turning away customers if the exact amount is not given.“In Mumbai too, most government hospitals have ignored the state government's repeated warnings to provide electronic payment facilities. The exception to the rule are a few corporation hospitals.Health officials at these hospitals said patients could even pay for their MRI and CT scans using credit or debit cards. These hospitals also accept payments for stents and implants through cheques. Dean of state-run JJ Group of hospitals, Dr T P Laha ne, said they started accepting cheque payments soon after November 8 when demonetisation was announced. “For patients paying by cheques, we note down their phone numbers,“ Dr Lahane said.JJ Hospital is the biggest state-funded medical institution with annual footfall of nearly five lakh patients.In Indore, hospitals have only now started placing orders for swipe machines. The Madhya Pradesh health department is likely to get 40 swipe machines by December-end to be installed at its various facilities, a government spokesman said.The Chhattisgarh government recently directed the health department to ensure facility for cashless payment in all district and civil hospitals, as also at all medical colleges, Ayush and private hospitals across the state.“We've applied for swipe machines but the banks too are facing shortage due to sudden surge in demand,“ said Raipur's district hospital's civil surgeon Dr P K Agrawal.(Inputs from Bhopal, Jaipur, Raipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow)