Lokayukta Justice Y Bhaskar Rao, along with a team of officials, on Tuesday visited K C General Hospital following complaints about hospital staff taking bribes from patients.
“We did not register any case. However, we asked the hospital staff to take an oath before us stating they will not accept bribes. Serious action will be taken if we find them taking bribes in future,” Rao said.
Meanwhile, during the inspection, a complainant came forward and pointed to general surgeon Dr Ravi Kumar and said that his department staff had demanded Rs 5,000 as bribe. Kumar pleaded that he was not guilty and refunded the amount based on the Lokayukta’s direction.
Hospital medical superintendent Dr R L Chandra Prabha said, “Kumar claims he did not take any bribe. Maybe somebody else in his department is responsible. We will conduct an inquiry and submit a report. We will also take up the issue with the Principal Secretary to the Health and Family Welfare Department.”
During the visit, the Lokayukta also found that eight doctors had abstained from work and the hospital staff were not intimated about their absence. “A few doctors were not present during duty hours. We have asked the superintendent to submit a report. I believe this could be the case in other government hospitals too. We will carry out similar inspections in other hospitals,” Rao said.
