Civil surgeons to personally monitor functioning of hospitals

Punjab government has directed the Civil surgeons in the state to personally monitor the functioning of government hospitals to check the "growing indiscipline" there.
They have also been directed to conduct periodic surprise checks in hospitals falling in their respective districts.
The directions were issued by Health and Family Welfare Minister Surjeet Kumar Jayani after at high level meeting with department officials to take stock of the latest development following the Ludhiana incident, an official spokesman said here today.
Taking "immediate steps" to check the "growing indiscipline" in the civil hospital Ludhiana following the deaths of infants, Jayani posted Dr Renu as the Medical Superintendent at Civil Hospital Ludhiana after suspending Dr Alka Mittal for alleged negligence and carelessness.

"Any laxity on the part of the doctors causing any harm to the patients would not be spared," the Minister said, adding strict action would be taken against the doctors found responsible of the ill-fated offence causing deaths of the infants.
The Minister said that he has already taken up the issue of appointing more doctors in the state with the Chief Minister and the posts lying vacant all across the state would be filled at the earliest.

Meanwhile, he asked that Civil Surgeons to identify the hospitals with shortage of staff and has also asked them to fill the posts on the basis of user charges.

Jayani directed the Director Health services and Family Welfare to make sure the accuracy in appointing the staff in the hospitals besides individually supervising each and every health institution in the state.
He has also asked him to keep a close tab on the overall functioning of the health institutes to avoid occurrence of such untoward incidents.
Taking strong view of the "reluctance" on the part of the specialised surgeons to operate during the procedures in the government hospitals, Jayani asked them to remain present in the Operation Theatres especially while handling serious delivery cases.
Quoting statistics, the Minister said that the number of institutional deliveries has risen to 2 lakh per year as compared to merely 40,000 in the year 2009.

Taking a serious note of the death of five newborn babies at a civil hospital at Ludhiana, Punjab government had yesterday suspended a gynaecologist and transferred a medical officer, as Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal ordered an inquiry and said those found negligent "would not be spared".
Jayani had placed gynaecologist Dr Alka Mittal posted at Ludhiana Civil Hospital here under suspension with immediate effect and transferred Senior Medical Officer Dr R K Karkara.