E-Paper
Doctors continue the foul practice
How shockingly the poor patients are denied facilities at the district hospital has come to light from an incident in which a very senior PMS doctor referred a patient to the costly diagnostic centre for even a simple test.
How shockingly the poor patients are denied facilities at the district hospital has come to light from an incident in which a very senior PMS doctor referred a patient to the costly diagnostic centre for even a simple test.
The incident also highlights the fact that the government doctors and many a private diagnostic centres have become more organised in forcing patients, coming to the district hospitals, to visit private centres for various tests.
A 25-year-old suspected TB patient Ashok from Beli Gaon was recently referred to a private diagnostic centre situated on the Lowther Road for simple X-ray and blood test, by a senior PMS doctor posted at the Tej Bahadur Sapru (Beli) Hospital. The doctor made the reference on the 'Reference Slip' pad, issued by the diagnostic centre to him. Moreover, the patient was referred for these two tests allegedly from the Beli Hospital during the OPD hours.
All this was done despite the fact that the Beli Hospital has region's first state-of-the-art 'Regional Diagnostic Centre' and the TB Clinic, where X-ray and sputum tests of the suspected TB patients are regularly conducted. The Regional Diagnostic Centre was also set up at the cost of over Rs 1 crore to provide advance X-ray, blood test, pathology and diagnostic services to the patients. Chief medical superintendent of the Beli Hospital Dr RB Singh expressed shock over the incident.
"It was highly shameful for a senior doctor of the hospital to refer patient to a particular private diagnostic centre, from the hospital. There are clear directions that no doctor or staff can refer medicines or tests to the patients from outside hospital," he said.
Dr Singh said even if the particular facility was not available at the hospital, the doctor should have referred the patient through him. He should also have clarified the reason for sending the patient to a private diagnostic centre.
"Today only I will hold a meeting with the staff and issue clear directions in this regard," he added.
However, when contacted the scanning centre initially wanted to avoid to talk but said later. "All this 'system' is quite evident. But still if a particular facility is available at the hospital, ethically the doctor should not have referred the patient to a private centre," said centre's director Dr VK Agarwal.
