Health department plagued by corruption

Pharmacists bribe officials to retain posts

Pharmacists bribe officials to retain posts

The Directorate of Health Services (DHS) is in the news for the wrong reasons yet again. After a furore over the unrevised rates of the Delhi Government Employees Health Scheme (DGEHS) draining the exchequer, it has been discovered that the DHS has been turning a blind eye to the violation of guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, allowing pharmacists to continue in the same post more than two years.


The Sanjay Gandhi Hospital is one of the institutions under scrutiny

The revised notice issued by the ministry in 2006 said: "No one should remain in sensitive departments like stores and finance for more than two years in a row."

In spite of this, there areu00a0 a number of people working as pharmacists in government hospitals as well as in DHS for more than ten years. Even if they change their job, theyu00a0 manage to get the same position in other hospitals by bribing officials in the health department.

A K Wadhwa who has been working as a pharmacist in-charge, purchase, Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for the past 15 years is one such case.

Sources said Wadhwa had earlier worked with Lok nayak and Deen Dayal Upadhaya Hospital in the same position. When Dr Kamath, the medical superintendent of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital was asked about this, he said, "Yes, he is working with us for more than two years but I am unaware about any such guidelines." However, the medical superintendents of the other two hospitals were not available for comments.

"These pharmacists bribe the officials in various departments and manage to get the same position in the different hospitals," said a DHS official, requesting anonymity.

When asked about the reason of not following the guidelines, S Bhattacharjee, director, DHS, said that the guidelines would be followed henceforth.u00a0 "We are now busy on other things. Why are you bringing these things in between?" he said. "There are some people who will be now shifted from the stores," Bhattacharjee added.

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