Silence of CMO Poonch justifies the presence of various mafias in the health department; Health laboratories running illegally;  DEIC unit defunct

Silence of CMO Poonch justifies the presence of various mafias in the health department; Health laboratories running illegally;  DEIC unit defunct

POONCH TODAY NEWS

POONCH: Despite fully knowing about the presence of various mafia’s operating within the health department, Poonch, Chief Medical Officer, and Medical Superintendent of Raja Sukhdev Singh Hospital, Poonch, have maintained a criminal silence.

On the one hand, the business of private practice of doctors is flourishing by all means, and on the other hand, the nexus of top health officers with private hospitals has given a big dent to the claims of the UT administration about providing better health care facilities at the hospital. A hub of multiple financial frauds from the health care schemes meant for the common man,  a few officials in the department holding important chairs have made huge fortunes with the full backing of the CMO office and the office of Medical Superintendents at district headquarter and block levels. There is no permanent eye specialist in the district after the retirement of renowned eye surgeon and son of the soil, Dr. Anil Bhalla, and it’s a big setback to the healthcare facilities. The authorities of the health department never recommended an eye surgeon to the government, and it’s the common man who suffered a lot. The DEIC unit was set up by the government to detect signs of any disease in children below 16 years of age, but its functioning has also come under a big question mark. The unit has become defunct  and a number of employees rarely attend their duties, and it’s another big question mark on the medical superintendent, who has completely failed to ensure the functioning of all units regularly and properly. Locals have questioned the output of the DEIC unit since its inception and demanded that its whole performance be brought into the public domain, as some important platforms inside DEIC reportedly have not been working for a long time. Moreover, there is no plaster room in the hospital. The issue of illegal encroachment of hospital land and flourishing medical businesses against the rules within the premises also remained in the limelight, but the hospital authorities seem to have maintained a deliberate silence on the issue. Poor administration of the hospital by the medical superintendent has become a big public concern as blue-eyed officials in the department continue to hit their well known targets by any means. Those doctors who used to give long appointments to patients in the district and sub-district hospitals are timely available in private hospitals, which clearly shows that the nexus between the health department and the private hospital runs without any problems. Another shocking thing that has endangered the lives of the common man is the mushrooming and illegal growth of health care laboratories, as some patients claim that some laboratories never perform all tests and used to give reports without conducting any tests by knowing the patients history. Locals said that the workings of these laboratories were never checked by the department, and as a result, they are being accused of playing with the sentiments of the common man with their sole motive of earning money illegally. A renowned personality of Poonch, pleading anonymity, said, “I went to a laboratory for a lipid profile test. When the report of the test was given to me, my TG level was 650. I was shocked and left for Jammu the next day, where I conducted a test on the recommendation of a renowned doctor. After I got the report, my TG level was 110. It’s shocking that laboratories in Poonch are playing with the health of the common man by giving reports without conducting tests or by improper testing. The credibility of the laboratories has decreased in the eyes of the common man as they are running without any checking from the health department and might be in a hand-in-glove relationship.” The horrible state of affairs in the health department has exposed the claims of the UT administration that better health care facilities are being provided in the district. Will the government initiate a high-level inquiry into all issues of public health concern, including flourishing mafias, with the support of the CMO office and medical superintendents at district and block levels.