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Kidney racket leaves health dept red-faced
The police action on a kidney racket at a private hospital barely 30 km away from Dehradun has left the health department red-faced
The police action on a kidney racket at a private hospital barely 30 km away from Dehradun has left the health department red-faced.
The department officials apparently had no clue about the racket until the police busted it on Monday. It is the second time in less than a month that the health department was caught off guard. In August, a joint team of Haryana police and health department busted a sex determination racket being run from an ultrasound centre at Roorkee in Haridwar district, even as the local health authorities had no hint about it.
Officials, however, put the onus on the acute shortage of doctors. “A major issue is that we have a shortage of doctors. So, either we can ask them to treat patients or carry out investigations,” additional secretary (health) Pankaj Kumar Pandey told HT.
Pointing to possible reasons behind lack of “feedback or information”, he added, “The racket involved the people from other states…we appeal to the public to inform the health department whenever they get to know about any such thing.”
Pandey said “precautions” will be taken in future. “We are writing to the health directorate to carry out checks at all places where kidney-related procedures like dialysis are carried out and also to continue ensuring (checks) from time to time.”
The health department had formed a three-member panel for carrying out a probe at the hospital. “We (health department team) have completed investigation and have submitted the report to the authorities concerned,” said Dr Tara Chand Pant, chief medical officer of Dehradun, refusing to divulge details of the “confidential report”.
Sources in the health department said the report has “concluded that kidney removal and transplantation was indeed being done at the hospital based on its prime facie investigation”. The team also reportedly found paraphernalia associated with kidney removal/transplantation process even though the hospital did not have the license to conduct the surgeries. The team also found medicines and injections that are used in the process.
“We have submitted the report to the police,” Pandey said.
