Indore (Madhya Pradesh): In an extraordinary case of administrative blunder, a health certificate was issued in the name of a person, who died almost a year ago. The health certificate was issued by the Resident Medical Officer of District Hospital over which an inquiry has been launched.
Surprisingly, the matter came to the fore when an employee of the hospital lodged a complaint against the doctor when he was transferred to another hospital.
Complainant Ganesh Prajapat, of District Hospital, lodged a complaint with the Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr BS Saitya that RMO Dr Satish Nema had issued a health certificate in the name of Deepak Nawale, a man who died almost a year ago.
'The certificate, dated November 4, 2023, was inexplicably created for Nawale, who passed away on December, 18 2022 by Dr Nema on the basis of fabricated documents provided by Rahul Choudhary, another staff of the hospital,' the complainant mentioned
This bizarre incident has triggered a thorough investigation in Indore's District Hospital.
Taking cognisance of the complaint, CMHO had forwarded the complaint to Regional Director, Health Dr RC Panika who later launched a probe under the supervision of senior joint director Dr Purnima Gadaria.
"The issuance of a health certificate for someone who has been dead for nearly a year is not just a clerical error but a serious issue. This act has serious implications for the integrity of our healthcare records and could indicate potential fraudulent activities," Dr Gadaria said.
She added that the investigation is underway and they have recorded the statement of the complainant. The investigating officer has also called the RMO for recording the statement.
Meanwhile, Dr Nema told the media that he made the certificate for a person who approached him in OPD with the receipt of the deceased name and asked to prepare the certificate as he required it to resume his work in a private company.
Complaint is fishy but serious lacuna exposed
According to a senior health officer, closely monitoring the case, the complaint is fishy as the complainant failed to inform the source of the certificate and the family of the deceased never approached the department to lodge a complaint.
'Even if it is fishy, the doctor shouldn't have given the certificate without checking the documents of the patient,' the official said.
