E-Paper
Glaring anomalies go unchecked
THERE are glaring discrepancies and lacunae in issuing certificates to physically challenged persons here. The criteria to issue medical certificate to physically disabled persons do not exist in the health department register. There is no data of the percentage of deformities, nor any mention of the disabilities in official documents. Despite the provision of a psychiatrist in the medical board, as per government rule, at UHM hospital the psychiatrist is not included in the board.
THERE are glaring discrepancies and lacunae in issuing certificates to physically challenged persons here.
The criteria to issue medical certificate to physically disabled persons do not exist in the health department register. There is no data of the percentage of deformities, nor any mention of the disabilities in official documents. Despite the provision of a psychiatrist in the medical board, as per government rule, at UHM hospital the psychiatrist is not included in the board.
Moreover, the official documents lack the addresses of most people who were issued physical disability certificates. This correspondent sent a person before the medical board at UHM hospital on Wednesday. This person has a physical disability certificate, mentioning his disability as 50%, issued by a medical board in Ghatampur some months back.
This time the same person was issued a physically disabled certificate once again and he succeeded in enhancing his disability percentage from 50 to 60.
This happened here at UHM hospital where every Wednesday a medical board sits and issues physically disability certificate, but only after charging the person Rs 1,500. The person is the resident of Shyam Nagar and in the CMO office record, his age is mentioned as 18 years. But according to his High School certificate, he was born on 17-4-1984.
This person succeeded in hiding his real age because he paid money, though according to government norms the disability certificate is issued free of cost. But at UHM hospital anyone can get the desired percentage of physical disability provided his pocket is full.
Astonishingly, in the register maintained by the health department officials, no particulars are mentioned before the name of the persons issued disability certificates, though the certificates are issued by a panel of doctors comprising of an eye surgeon, an ENT surgeon and an orthopedic surgeon and the chairman of the medical board is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) himself. Nor is there a mention of the disability for which he was issued a certificate.
On an average, every year around 3,360 persons are issued physical disability certificates by the medical board at UHM hospital that sits on a weekly basis. Every Wednesday, about 60 to 70 per cent people are issued disability certificates.
Several persons who had turned up to get the certificate claimed that they were charged an amount ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 2,500. The rate depends on the percentage of deformity sought. Shiv Kumar claimed that while entering the hospital, he met a broker who convinced him that he would get the desired percentage of physical deformity if he paid Rs 1,000.
The eye surgeon on the medical board here is an emergency medical officer at a government hospital in the city. The orthopedic surgeon is a medical officer at a far flung primary health centre and the ENT surgeon is working in a government hospital on ad-hoc basis.
When CMO DR Vijay Shankar Singh was questioned about the discrepancies in issuing physically disabled certificates, he said, “I will ask the medical board in this regard and if any person with extra percentage of disability comes before me I will constitute a new board and the person will be re-examined by expert doctors.”
