BHOPAL: Surprise police raid at a closed hotel in Jabalpur city of Madhya Pradesh, revealed that a makeshift hospital was being run there, by those owning the hotel as well as the adjacent private hospital. Most of the patients admitted at the hotel-cum-makeshift hospital were beneficiaries of the central government’s Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
According to Jabalpur district chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr Sanjay Mishra, the entire operation on Saturday was carried out by the district police, following specific information about the hotel (closed since the COVID pandemic) being used to run a makeshift medical facility, particularly to cater to the medical needs of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
“The police team was accompanied by Dr Adarsh Vishnoi, the nodal officer for the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Jabalpur district and another official of the health department. The police action in the company of health department staff, not only revealed that a hospital was being run at the hotel without any permission from the health department but a CT scan centre too was being operated at the basement of the same non-operational Hotel Vega,” Mishra said.
The makeshift hospital at the hotel was being run by the family which operates the adjacent Central India Kidney Hospital. The private hospital is operated by the family of Dr Ashwini Pathak, a prominent nephrologist of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose government medical college in Jabalpur only.
The Hotel Vega which is adjacent to the hotel was operated by Dr Pathak’s son, but hasn’t been functioning since the COVID pandemic.
Visuals of the police raid at the hotel revealed that around 70 Ayushman Bharat scheme beneficiaries were being treated at the non-operational hotel sans proper facilities. In many rooms, two patients were being treated on one bed.
Most of these Ayushman Bharat scheme beneficiary patients hailed from districts adjoining Jabalpur district, including Damoh district.
According to a senior health department official, the district police has been told clearly that the hospital had not been given any permission to run a medical facility at the non-operational hotel.
The official added the possibility of fraud in the Ayushman Bharat scheme through the admission of patients from neighbouring districts at the hotel functioning as a hospital, cannot be ruled out, but further probe is needed.
However, Dr Ashwini Pathak, whose family runs the Central India Kidney Hospital as well as owns the non-operational Vega Hotel, denied any foul play or wrongdoing at the hospital being run at the closed hotel.
“It’s not a hotel anymore, but we’re running 100 beds medical facility thereafter permission from the Victoria (District Hospital). We’re not charging a single rupee from the Ayushman Bharat scheme card holders,” he claimed.