Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has taken a suo motu cognisance of a Hindustan Times report that the driver of deputy medical commissioner (DMC) Dr RS Padda has allegedly been attending patients in his room at the district-level civil hospital of Tarn Taran.
According to the order by PSHRC chairperson justice Sant Parkash, the commission has called for the report from director, health services and family welfare, Punjab, on or before September 12.
On Friday, Hindustan Times had highlighted that besides attending patients, driver Ajay Kumar, who has been attached to Dr Padda for around seven years, has also been accused of fleecing money from the patients by advising medical tests from a private firm in the name of the senior district-level doctor.
Jaspreet Kaur of Dhunda village had submitted her complaint to the civil surgeon on July 31. The woman had also attached the official slip of Tarn Taran civil hospital meant for patients with the driver’s purported handwriting prescribing medical tests along with her complaint. The slip also contains the stamp of Dr Padda along with a signature.
“When I entered Dr Padda’s room, an employee was sitting there. The employee wrote some tests and X-ray on my medical slip and sent another employee along with me to get them done from a private lab. The lab attendants had asked me to pay ₹2,000 for the tests, but I had only ₹800. A few tests were conducted. Later, I came to know that all the tests are conducted free of cost in the hospital,” the complaint reads.
{{/usCountry}}“When I entered Dr Padda’s room, an employee was sitting there. The employee wrote some tests and X-ray on my medical slip and sent another employee along with me to get them done from a private lab. The lab attendants had asked me to pay ₹2,000 for the tests, but I had only ₹800. A few tests were conducted. Later, I came to know that all the tests are conducted free of cost in the hospital,” the complaint reads.
{{/usCountry}}Senior medical officer (SMO) of the hospital Dr Kawaljit Singh had locked Dr Padda’s room on Wednesday after the matter came to his attention.
Dr Padda, however, had refuted all the allegations against him including that he was getting a commission from a private lab.
Tarn Taran civil surgeon Dr Gurpreet Singh Rai had said that he had ‘thrown’ the driver out of the doctor’s room, besides issuing a general advisory to not allow any employee to sit in the doctors’ rooms.
Director health Adarshpal Kaur has issued a general order to all civil surgeons and medical superintendents of the state to ensure that no private person is allowed to interfere in government health institutions. The director has also sought undertakings from the civil surgeons and the medical superintendents in this regard within two days. Director health has also marked an inquiry into the case to Amritsar civil surgeon Dr Vijay Kumar. Dr Kumar said, “I have been asked to conduct an inquiry and submit the report in one week.”