The Hindu | Karnataka | Updated: December 4, 2015 05:43 IST
The Karnataka Medical Council(KMC) has issued a notice to the Government McGann District Hospital here seeking explanation for allegations of poor management and irregular practices in the hospital.
The McGann hospital is also a teaching hospital for the Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), a government medical college.
It may be mentioned here that when Manjula Manasa, chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Women visited the hospital in January this year, the relatives of patients in the hospital had complained that the staff members attached to the maternity ward were demanding bribe to show the face of newborns. They alleged that if the newborn was female, Rs. 500 was being demanded from them, and Rs. 1,000 for a male. Ms. Manasa had directed the administration of the hospital to end this irregular practice.
It is said that even after Ms. Manasa’s visit, the practice was continuing and the aggrieved public had lodged a complaint with the Karnataka Medical Council. Acting on the complaint, the council issued a notice to the hospital authorities in February this year, seeking an explanation.
It is said that the hospital authorities had not responded to the notice. The second notice was issued in April for which the hospital replied by stating that measures had been initiated to ensure transparency in the functioning of the hospital.
As the council was not satisfied with the reply, it issued a third notice on November 23, asking the director of SIMS and medical superintendent of the hospital to appear before it in person on January 23, 2016, and explain the measures that were claimed to have been taken to prevent irregular practices. The KMC has also cautioned that disciplinary action would be initiated against the persons concerned under Section 15 of the Karnataka Medical Registration Act, if they were found to have violated the code of medical ethics.B.V. Sushil Kumar, Director of SIMS, told The Hindu that surveillance cameras had been installed in all the wards of the hospital and a vigilance team formed to keep a tab on corrupt practices. The telephone numbers for the public to lodge complaints against corrupt practices had been displayed prominently in the hospital. All possible measures had been initiated ensure safe delivery and proper healthcare of the mother and the newborns. The KMC would be apprised on these initiatives taken by the hospital, he said.
