Dhar: Committee formed to check menace of middlemen at government hospital

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): Following several complaints, the district health administration has initiated steps to check the menace of touts who cheat vulnerable patients coming to government hospital by promising them quick and better healthcare facilities at private hospitals.

The district administration received several complaints against touts at government hospitals during a public hearing. It was alleged that middlemen promise better medical facilities at reasonable rates to vulnerable patients, who come to government hospitals for medical treatment. The poor and illiterate patients often become their soft targets. Acting on the complaints, district collector Dr Pankaj Jain undertook a surprise inspection of the government hospital and saw for himself the negligence of the hospital management. Thereafter on his instructions, Chief Medical & Health Officer constituted a committee to look into the matter in order to keep the hospital free of middlemen and to ensure quality healthcare services to patients.

The committee after scouting records of several private hospitals submitted the data to civil surgeon Dr Malviya. As per data, five patients who were earlier undergoing bone-related surgery at the district hospital were diverted to the private Tirupati Hospital. The report has also been forwarded to the CMHO office for further scrutiny.

As per Civil Surgeon Dr SS Malviya, more than 150 such patients have been identified from seven private facilities who have recently shifted there.

Later, identified patients and their kin will be called for further enquiry to identify the reason behind going to private hospitals. Further action would be initiated if it is found that any tout or hospital staff is involved in luring patients or their kin and sending them to private hospitals for commission.