Mumbai KEM patients’ reports reincarnated as ‘paper plates’, BMC orders probe

The SS (UBT) leaders sought to know how the confidential medical reports of patients were ostensibly ‘sold’ away as waste and returned in a new avatar as ‘paper plates.` Image courtesy: IANS

The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has ordered a probe into a bizarre revelation of the KEM Hospital patients' old medical reports getting reincarnated as ‘paper plates' in the market, officials said here on Saturday.

The opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) highlighted the issue after some videos of the development went viral on social media.

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While MNS spokesperson Sandeep Deshpande shared the video, the SS (UBT) leaders like Anil Choudhary, Kishori Pednekar and Shraddha Jadhav rushed to the hospital to demand an explanation from the authorities of the civic-run premier medical institution.

Besides the high-level probe by a Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Public Health), the BMC has also slapped a memo to one of its service providers and sought an explanation from the KEM authorities on the issue.

The SS (UBT) leaders sought to know how the confidential medical reports of patients were ostensibly ‘sold' away as waste and returned in a new avatar as ‘paper plates', displaying the names, addresses, the medical department and other details of those who were treated at KEM Hospital.

Rattled by the furore, the BMC said that after various tests like x-rays, MRIs or CT scans, the patients were given the report in a folder.

These folders were either outdated or old and later destroyed into a shredder before being disposed of as scrap by the concerned service provider of the BMC.

However, in this instance, it was found that the vendor had reportedly sold out the folders without shredding them, amounting to negligence, said the BMC.

A civic source said that in the past couple of years, the civic hospitals have initiated a major project to digitise the medical reports of all its patients but said it was a mystery how the old folders emerged again as ‘paper plates'.

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