Attendants asked to contribute for OT essentials, before surgeries
Arjumand Wani
SRINAGAR, Dec 13: In a startling revelation, patients in Ophthalmology department at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital Srinagar are being asked to donate money for purchase of essential medical equipments and other items required in operation theatre.
Pertinently, these items are other than the ones required by the doctors to perform surgery of a patient and which are available free of cost to the patients under Golden Card scheme.
An eye witness (attendant of a patient) told Kashmir Despatch that all the patients admitted in Ward Number 7 and Ward Number 8, of Ophthalmology department who were scheduled for surgery tomorrow were given a long informal itinerary of medical items required in operation room.
“The doctors had given a list to us (a copy of which is in possession of Kashmir Despatch). Then all the patients were asked to donate Rs 900 each in Ward number 7 in order to fetch the essentials from some particular distributor of medical items in the nearby market. We were told that the said distributor gives some rebate on these items,” said the attendant, pleading anonymity.
Many attendants, whom Kashmir Despatch talked to, confirmed that the doctors give a long list of items prior to the day of surgery and it is a norm in these wards. “And that list does not contain any medicines or equipments for any specific patient but for being used in the Operation Theatre. Day before yesterday we collected Rs 825 from each patient and fetched those prescribed items from the open market (from some particular distributor mostly recommended for these items within the hospital). This collection of donation from the patients who surface in the list for surgery takes place here on daily basis, a day before the actual date of operation,” an attendant informed Kashmir Despatch.
Pertinently, all these medical items for which the patients were asked to donate money are not required by the patients for their own treatment but are to be made readily available in the operation theatre for general purposes.
“We got the medical items including lenses, medicines etc for our own use as prescribed by the doctors for the surgery scheduled to be conducted tomorrow. Those items were provided to us under Ayushman Bharat Yojana (AB-PMJAY—Golden Card) free of cost. So there is a difference between these two lists,” said another attendant from Khrew, whose patient was admitted in Ward 7.
The attendants in the ward 7 expressed dismay, stating that they had come for the treatment in the government hospital just to save some money and avail the benefits under Golden Card scheme.
“But we were asked to donate Rs 900 each from our own pocket for equipments needed to run operation theatre which is none of our business. This is not fair. We belong to an economically downtrodden section of this society and despite the government’s welfare schemes available for our treatment we are being asked to give our hard earned money for running theatres in the hospital, which otherwise is the mandate of the hospital administration,” said Mohammad Tahir (name changed), an attendant of the patient from Baramulla district.
AB-PMJAY is designed to reduce health expenditures, improve access to quality healthcare, and minimize out-of-pocket expenses for vulnerable families.
According to the National Health Authority’s guidelines issued in November 2021, benefits under AB-PMJAY include cashless hospitalization, day care treatment, follow-up care, pre and post-hospitalization expenses, and coverage for newborn children.
This situation not only raises concerns about potential financial exploitation but also questions the adherence to the guidelines of a government-sponsored healthcare scheme.
Most of the attendants in these wards of Ophthalmology department whom this correspondent met belonged to lowest income groups of the society. “I am a daily wager. Similarly there are some attendants here in this ward who can hardly meet both the ends. Rs 900 may seem a petty amount to the people like doctors but it is equal to my one and a half day wages. How can I afford this much of money when I need meet out other expenses at home,” said an attendant while showing the list of items prescribed by the doctors.
The SMHS administration has promised a thorough investigation, and affected patients hope for swift action against those responsible for what appears to be a breach of trust and a violation of established medical ethics.
Kashmir Despatch shared the controversial list with the Medical Superintendent of SMHS. When asked about the incident, Dr. Muzaffar, the Medical Superintendent at SMHS, expressed shock, asserting that the hospital provides almost all the items mentioned in the informal list. He stated, “I have forwarded this list provided by you to the enquiry committee. We will take strict action against whosoever is found involved in this alleged malpractice.”
Dr Afroze Khan (Professor Ophthalmology GMC Srinagar), when contacted said: “It is totally unacceptable practice. I will enquire about it tomorrow morning. How can we collect money from the patients for any items required in Operation Theatre other than the essentials sought from the patient for his or her treatment.”
Dr Khan who heads one of the units in the department said: “If it is happening in our department, the same needs to be enquired thoroughly so that the people responsible for this collection of money are identified and taken to task.”
Despite repeated attempts, Principal Government Medical College Srinagar was not available for his comments.
