BHUBANESWAR: Large scale irregularities have been detected in utilisation of user fees collected by District Headquarters Hospitals (DHHs) and other hospitals in Odisha.
The fund is supposed to be used to extend and upgrade additional medicare facilities for patients.
Performance audit (a report of which is with The Express) on collection and utilisation of user fees at different hospitals revealed that crores of rupees have been illegally diverted and spent in violation of Government guidelines.
Though the users fees should be utilised for maintenance and improvement of respective hospitals as well as for day-to-day expenditure to ensure qualitative health care services, the audit found unauthorised expenditure of Rs 67.78 lakh in six hospitals in the State.
Kendrapara DHH has purchased ultrasound and X-Ray machine at Rs 16.35 lakh from user fees despite the sanction order of the project director of District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) for the medical equipment.
Interestingly, the utilisation certificate has been submitted to DRDA though no fund was received from the agency.
While Puri DHH had made illegal purchases of cold mortuary, washing machines and refrigerators of over Rs 5.5 lakh without adhering to the tender formalities, products received had no valid ISO certification raising quality concern.
Even as there is provision of payment for Mahaprayan (dead body carrier) facility from District Red Cross Fund, Chief District Medical Officers of Nabarangpur and Bhawanipatna have paid `73,231 and `1.61 lakh from user fee during 2016-17.
The audit also found unauthorised diversion of Rs 6 lakh from user fee fund to Rogi Kalyan Samiti for utilisation in Janani Suraksha Yojana in Nayagarh DHH. Similarly, in Balasore DHH, while Rs 46.68 lakh was diverted to different schemes, Rs 31.37 lakh was recovered till completion of the audit.
Though user fee should be deposited in a savings account of a Nationalised Bank, the persons in-charge of collection had not deposited the amount for more than three years in many hospitals. The audit has also revealed doubtful expenditure of `2.5 lakh in Nayagarh and Jagatsinghpur DHHs.
“Apart from irregularities and diversion of funds in violation of Government guidelines, a sizable amount of fund is lying unutilised in different hospitals. The funds should be utilised for the purpose it was made,” the audit report stated besides recommending action against erring officials responsible for the irregularities.
The performance audit was conducted in seven DHHs, City Hospital at Cuttack and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics (Sishu Bhawan), Cuttack from 2012-13 to 2016-17. The DHHs put under audit included of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Nayagarh, Puri, Dhenkanal, Balasore and Rayagada districts.
The State Government had introduced levy of user fee in 1997 to generate resources for accommodation, transportation, radio diagnostic and other pathological investigations in hospitals. It was, however, withdrawn after implementation of Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana last year.