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Mira Bhayandar: In a shocking revelation, an anesthetist working at the state government run-Bharat Ratna Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Civil (Tembha) Hospital in Bhayandar has been show-caused after complaints that he is practicing in a private healthcare facility.
This despite the fact that the anesthetist identified as- Dr. Patil had been drawing an additional monthly pay-out towards non-practicing allowance (NPA) from the government hospital. NPA which disallows government medical officers to conduct private practice is calculated on the basis of the basic pay.
The show-cause notice issued by civil surgeon- Dr. Zafar Tadvi on June, 21 has sought an explanation from the anesthetist tagged with a warning to stop such private practice or face disciplinary action. The matter came to light after Omprakash Garodia, who is one of the members in the hospital’s regulatory committee, learnt about an incident in which a 42-year-old pregnant woman died at a private hospital in Kashimira on June, 1 2024.
While digging out more details, Garodia received reliable information about the presence of the government doctor who allegedly provided anesthesia to the patient. Armed with evidence, Garodia raised the issue in the meeting of the regulatory committee and also sought the intervention of the chief medical officer in the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC)-Dr. B.T. Dudhbhate who requested the civil surgeon to conduct a probe. into the matter.
Notably, the private hospital was running an operation theatre without obtaining permission from concerned authorities. Sensing the seriousness of the issue, local legislator- Geeta Jain moved a call-to-attention motion on the issue as per provisions under 105 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules.
The motion is yet to come-up for discussions in the house. As per the list uploaded on the MBMC’s official website, 217 hospitals have been registered with the health department under the Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act-1949. This apart from registered medical practitioners who operate clinics, dispensaries and consultation centre's in the twin-city.
However, the figures could be much higher as several healthcare institutions in the twin-city were not only operating in an illegal manner lacking qualified medicos, needed infrastructure and basic facilities, thus playing with the lives of patients.
