Irregularities plague govt. hospitals: ACB

The 48-hour raid on Government District Headquarters and Area Hospitals and Dispensaries across the State by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials highlighted the poor maintenance and irregularities in drug stores, wards and kitchens in many hospitals.

Following the directions of ACB Director General P.S.R. Anjaneyulu, more than 100 ACB officials inspected the facilities in government hospitals and Primary and Urban Health Centres on Thursday and Friday.

They found that medicines and other equipment were purchased without approval from Hospital Development Societies (HDSs), in some hospitals

HDS meetings were not conducted regularly and the diet being served to the patients was not as per the menu prescribed by the medical officers.

“Aarogyasri, Talli Bidda Scheme is not being implemented properly in many district and area hospitals. Registers in drug stores, out and in-patient registers, staff attendance, indent registers and records in blood banks are not properly maintained in some hospitals,” Mr. Anjaneyulu said.

Unqualified persons

In some dispensaries, unqualified persons were discharging duties as technicians and security personnel are maintaining some registers. Private persons, moving on the premises of some hospitals, were diverting the patients to private clinics and diagnostic centres for lab tests, X-rays, ECG and other reports.

Unhygienic conditions were seen in male, female, surgical, burns and paediatric wards in many hospitals. Condition in toilets was worst and there was no power to toilets in some hospitals.

In Gudur Area Hospital in Nellore district, variations in stock registers and the availability of the drugs were noticed, security personnel and sanitation supervisor were issuing outpatient slips and no citizen chart was found.

‘Fake bills’

In Tenali Government Hospital, some medicines were purchased without placing orders, diet registers were not maintained properly, difference between number of in-patients present in the hospital and the number of persons entered in the register was observed.

Ambulance allotted to the hospital was not in a good condition and fake bills submitted by unregistered diagnostic centre were noticed.

The 100-bedded Government Area Hospital, Gudivada, in Krishna district was functioning without installation of fire fighting equipment and there was no ‘NOC’ from the

Fire department. Blood bank funds were diverted to other purposes and private diagnostic centre staff were operating in the radiology department in the hospital.

‘No food licence’

When the ACB team visited Jangareddygudem Area Hospital, doctor, nursing superintendent and head nurse were absent.

No food licence was given to the diet contractor and huge stock variations were found in drug stores.

In NTR Hospital at Anakapalle, records indicate that seven in-patients, including five female patients under Aarogyasri were undergoing treatment in the hospital, but no patients were found in the ward.

The ACB Director General said that a detail report would be submitted to the government on the pathetic and unhygienic conditions and irregularities in the government, area and general hospitals in the State and action would be recommended against the erring staff.