Hospital staff in Puttur protest against bribery allegations for post-mortem services
Puttur: Outsourced staff members of a government hospital in Puttur staged a protest on Saturday in response to allegations made by a social organization claiming that post-mortems were being conducted only after bribes were paid. The staff vehemently denied these allegations and clarified that they were merely accepting the allowances provided to them.
Expressing their outrage, the outsourced staff members, who assist the hospital staff with post-mortems, protested against the baseless accusations made by the Kaliyuga Seva Samiti of Chikkamudnur. They highlighted the lack of evidence and emphasized that they had been falsely accused of bribery. As a result, the staff refused to cooperate with the post-mortem examinations of two bodies at the hospital.
Two deceased individuals, Sharath Joshi (22) from Bellare, who passed away due to a heart attack, and Rajan (51) from Kollam in Kerala, who resided in Nattibail, Uppinangady, and worked as a cement ring maker, were brought to the hospital mortuary. The families of the deceased however, faced difficulties as the protesting staff members outside the hospital refused to cooperate with the post-mortem examinations.
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Puttur Taluk Health Officer Dr. Deepak Rai and hospital doctor Dr. Yaduraj engaged in discussions with the protesting staff in an effort to resolve the issue. The doctors appealed to the staff to cooperate with the ongoing post-mortem examinations of the two bodies. Subsequently, the staff members opened the mortuary door and proceeded with the post-mortem examinations.
Dr. Deepak Rai, the Taluk Health Officer, spoke to Vartha Bharathi, stating, "Only government employees have the authority to conduct post-mortems. Outsourcing is not practiced by our employees. We work tirelessly for meager salaries, driven by our commitment to serving humanity. It is true that we receive what is offered to us, but we do not ask for bribes. Nevertheless, baseless allegations have been leveled against us, prompting our protest and refusal to perform the post-mortems."
Dr. Rai expressed concern over the situation, highlighting the inadequate number of government employees available to conduct post-mortems. Out of the 34 posts in the B group, only two are filled, with three staff members working on an outsourced basis alongside the doctors for post-mortem examinations, and three staff members serving as assistants. Their remuneration is significantly low, and they often have to work during nighttime hours. Despite these challenges, the staff members have been dedicated to their work, contributing to the esteemed reputation of Puttur hospital in the district, he said.
Dr. Rai demanded that the accusers clarify who is allegedly receiving bribes and urged them to withdraw their unfounded allegations. He emphasized that the reputation of the hospital had been tarnished due to these accusations against doctors and staff members.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
