Beltangady: Government Hospital Staff Siphoning off Medicines?
Daijiworld Media Network – Beltangady (SP)
Beltangady, Aug 23: The primary purpose of setting up government hospitals is to extend medical assistance to the needy free of cost. The suspicion that medicines supplied to the local government hospital are being sold off by the hospital staff for making quick bucks, has become more telling in the recent past. The doubt further confounded on Monday August 22, going by the developments witnessed at the hospital.
The people as well as people’s representatives here are aware since long that all is not well with this hospital. Numerous complaints had been made to the leaders about the neglect shown by the doctors towards poor patients and harassment of villagers who visit the hospital to get treated free of cost.
As per information received on Monday, two boxes of medicines belonging to the hospital had been loaded on to a 407 tempo for being sold. The media persons as well as zilla panchayat member, Chandrakala, rushed to the spot to bring out the truth. But by the time they reached the hospital, the tempo in question had sped off, and the hospital staff said that it was a vehicle meant for disposing off hospital waste.
In the past, the taluk panchayat president had raided the hospital and enquired the staff about the complaints of bribe received against them. The Lokayukta and ministers too had visited the hospital in the recent past, and expressed their resentment at the condition of the hospital and lacklustre approach of the employees there.
In an incident that occurred sometime back, a woman, who said the medical officer of the hospital had refused to treat her, had complained to the local legislator. The MLA had called up the doctor, but the doctor told him that he was in the operation theatre and that he would call the MLA after coming out. When the MLA called up the woman immediately thereafter, he learnt that the doctor was sitting in his office in front of the complainant.
All these developments indicate that the leaders and higher officials in the department of health have not taken any concrete steps to bring the hospital on right track.