SHILLONG: The High Court of Meghalaya has expressed its unhappiness over poor healthcare service in the State.
The court, while hearing a PIL on Tuesday, observed that an affidavit by the secretary of the Health and Family Welfare Department raises more questions than answering its queries.
The Government’s affidavit indicated that certain OPD clinics were conducted recently by super-specialists from Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkata, at Shillong Civil Hospital and in February 2017, some super-specialists from Hayat Hospital in Guwahati also conducted OPD clinics.
The High court did not find the reply satisfactory and said it raised the question on the methodology adopted in engaging super-specialists of other hospitals. “The basic question still remains as to whether such a methodology had been of proper health support to the people in need. It remains a matter of serious doubt as to what effective services could have been provided with the super-specialist doctors of a particular hospital holding only a day’s camp at one particular hospital in Shillong,” the court said.
The affidavit also mentioned that the Meghalaya Public Service Commission are conducting interviews for recruitment to the post of medical officers from February 28, which will continue until March 9.
On the lack of nursing staff, the affidavit said the selection process could not proceed because of an interim order passed by the High Court in a writ petition case of 2016. Looking to the averments made, the court requisitioned the record of the 2016 writ petition and found that it had granted the Government two weeks’ time to file a reply to the interim order of July 7, 2016.
The matter was then adjourned at least nine times and the Government advocate was given more time to file a counter affidavit. However, neither any counter affidavit was filed nor any prayer was made for vacating the interim order. The advocate said corrective steps would be taken in that regard.
“The very fact that reference to the aforesaid writ petition and the interim order has at all been made while trying to suggest as if recruitment to a particular cadre could not be made because of the stay order of this court, prima facie shows that every effort is being made on behalf of the government to somehow shift the burden at some other place without removing the deficiencies on its part,” the HC observed.
The court said it was “beyond any reasonable explanation” as to why counter affidavit has not been filed as yet and why a prayer for vacating the interim order was not made, if at all there had been seriousness about dealing with the matter related with the recruitment with expedition.
The court gave the government another opportunity to file the affidavit to clarify the questions indicated as also the other related aspects indicated in the previous orders passed in this case.
The HC requested Amicus Curiae T.T Diengdoh; senior counsel H.S Thangkhiew, who was appointed by the court as a co-opted member to the Committee constituted by the government; and the counsel K. Paul, appearing for NEIGRIHMS to place before the court their submissions in writing while particularly adverting to the areas of deficiencies in health services and remedial measures, as sought to be proposed by them.
The matter has been listed for hearing on March 10.
