Look out civic hospitals, this AMC could be watching you!

Dr Sudhakar Shinde does not have staff accompanying him on his secret inspections. Pic/courtesy Twitter

In the first 40 days as BMC's additional commissioner (Health), Dr Sudhakar Shinde has secretly inspected civic-run hospitals. In his regular attire and without accompanying staff, Dr Shinde claims he has visited almost 50 BMC-run medical facilities so far, and identified critical areas for improvement.

After the visit which the hospital staff is unaware of, Dr Shinde takes any required action. "We need to take care of sanitation and hygiene in all the health facilities, especially during the monsoon," Dr Shinde said of his visits.

This is not a new issue, as BMC-run hospitals are often criticised for their lack of sanitation, with rat sightings far too common. Even other officials have been commending this effort by Dr Shinde of the secret visits. "He has his own style of functioning," said Chetan Chaubal, head of BMC's pest control department.

"As he's also on night rounds, the staff is more alert. There is cleanliness as well," he added. While Chaubal's department carries out regular pest control services on hospital premises, the Additional Commissioner's visit brought about a change in their routine activities. "He told us to carry out activities outside the hospital as well.

Referral system

Recently, about 21 Tata Memorial Hospital staffers were booked for allegedly referring patients to a private lab for medical tests to pocket commissions. mid-day had observed a similar instance in the BMC-run Nair Hospital, where staffers were asking patients to visit a private lab in Dadar for a CT scan, instead of using the facility through which the hospital had a tie-up to provide tests at BMC rates.

Dr Shinde's visits began with KEM hospital, which sees around 10,000 patients availing various medical services daily. "While I have not found instances of patients being referred to private labs, there are so many medical shops and testing labs around civic hospitals that are running so well, which means that there is some kind of a referral system. I have told officials to keep a watch," Dr Shinde said.