Eknath Khadse takes on BJP government over healthcare mess

Eknath Khadse

Eknath Khadse, a former BJP minister, refuses to back down despite his fall from grace. He continues to attack his own government, and at the Assembly on Tuesday, he ripped the medical education and public health departments apart over failing health care, and wanted to know who was responsible for the deaths owing to lack of facilities.

Discussing budget demands, Khadse said poor patients were dying because of lack of facilities in both rural and urban areas. Tempers ran high in the lower house on Tuesday because of the absence of the medical education minister and his deputy. The Opposition was time and again demanding to know the whereabouts of the ministers.

An irate Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis shot back saying he had already acknowledged the key ministers' absence and had asked them for an explanation. He said he was personally listening to the debate and taking notes.

Later in the day, Khadse cited the example of some patients from Jalgaon district who had died two days ago at JJ Hospital because of lack of ventilators. He said even 'so called top urban hospitals' were ill-equipped and couldn't save patients.

"People come to my home with dead bodies and ask me to dispose of them. What are we doing in rural health care? The primary health centres have no equipment to treat patients. Accidents take place every day, but we cannot save victims. If you don't have MBBS doctors, at least give us BAMS doctors," he said. Khadse then launched a veiled attack on his intra-party rival, Girish Mahajan, who hails from Jalgaon district and heads the medical education department. He said a district civil hospital in Jalgaon was transferred to the medical education department to reattach it to a proposed medical college.

"But, this civil hospital doesn't even have an MRI machine. And they say they are going to have a medical college there. What's more, the college was announced in the last budget, but this year's budget hasn't made any financial provision for this," he said. He said he had an unpleasant experience with JJ doctors when he called requesting for a patient to be admitted. "When I asked them why ventilators were not available, there was no response."

He said six months ago he had written to the departments about a primary health centre in his area and other hospitals, but there is no action yet. "If you don't want to do anything, I suggest you lock up the facility in my area first," he said.

School Education minister, Vinod Tawade, who answered on behalf of Mahajan, said an inquiry would be launched in the ventilator issue at JJ Hospital. He said modalities of the medical college in Jalgaon were being worked out. Public Health Minister Deepak Sawant promised to correct the situation at the earliest. He blamed a staff shortage owing to the resignation of doctors.