KARIMNAGAR: In an incident that may stand as an example of the rotten health system at government hospitals, a doctor at Government District Headquarters Hospital here asked patients to visit his private hospital for treatment.
Many in-patients at the hospital have shown the visiting cards distributed by the civil assistant surgeon Kankam Srinivas, who runs Sri Srinivasa Hospital behind the government hospital in the city.
Not only Srinivas, several others including senior doctors are ‘forcing’ the poor patients to visit the private hospitals or nursling homes where they are working as consultants.
This corrupt practice has come to light during a surprise visit by Zilla Parishad chairperson Tula Uma to the hospital on Friday.
E Rajavva of Gundaram village in Illanthakunta mandal, who was admitted to the government hospital for consuming poison, was advised come to his hospital by Srinivas. “He asked us to come to his hospital for better treatment,” said Rajavaa’s daughter Padma. When the ZP chairperson tried to know the situation at the hospital, several other patients also told her about similar attempts by several other doctors. “Several other doctors are also trying to divert the patients to their own hospitals through various methods,” said a staffer at the hospital.
Later, Tula Uma visited the maternity ward and consoled a mother, Bharati of Gerre village in Adilabad district, whose infant died within minutes after delivery. Bharathi’s mother Bayakka alleged that the labour room assistants demanded `500 for new clothes for the baby.
Noticing that some lactating mothers do not have bed sheets on their beds, the ZP chairperson expressed ire on in-charge superintendent Dr G Laxmana Murthy. Later, speaking to media persons, she said she would initiate serious action against the errant doctors.