SHILLONG: The state government has decided to intervene in the continuing stand-off between doctors and the administration of NEIGRIHMS to restore order in the leading health care institute in the state.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, who left for Delhi on Thursday, said he will take up the issue with Union Health Ministry.
“I am not aware of the exact position. I will seek a report and then take up the matter with Delhi”, Sangma said told reporters.
Earlier, talking to media persons, Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek said he has already directed the department to convene a meeting to review the problems in the institute and sort it out at the earliest.
“We will urge them to immediately call a meeting of the governing council. We will also take stock of the situation in NEIGRIHMS,” Hek said.
Reiterating that the government wants to sort out the issues in the institute once and for all, he also said that patients who come to NEIGRIHMS from far and wide for treatment should not suffer due to the stand-off between the doctors of the Cardiology department and the administration.
According to the chief minister, the state government always treats issues related to health seriously.
“In the past, we had taken up several issues at the Central level and even in Parliament”, the chief minister said.
Meanwhile, the stalemate continued at the institute on Thursday as eight patients were posted for surgery, but the operations could not be conducted since devices like stents and pacemakers were not available in the institute.
Doctors said that it was assured that these would be made available in the hospital pharmacy within 48 hours, but that was not done.
Even on Wednesday, surgeries of as many as 12 patients could not be conducted in the absence of the devices.
However, NEIGRIHMS Public Relations Officer has revealed that the Head of the Department of Cardiology, Dr. Animesh Mishra, was not cooperating with the administration to make treatment of poor cardiology patients affordable as per the regulations of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
“The administration of NEIGRIHMS has been for past two years seeking co-operation from HoD Cardiology to solve the problem of patients but unfortunately the department preferred to make patients purchase costly stents and pacemakers from a vendor (Sanjo Medical) from outside the hospital at a very high cost”, the Institute said.
The vendor in connivance of the HoD Cardiology used to get stents in the morning to the Cath Lab and sell to the patients on the advice of the cardiologists on the day of the procedure at a very high cost, despite the capping of rates by the Ministry, said NEIGRIHMS.
According to NEIGRIHMS, what irked the Director was that on April 30 at 9.30 am, he found the vendor carrying four bags full of stents/pacemakers heading towards Cath Lab.
The supply was stopped in the interest of patients despite a noisy scene created by the HoD as he tried to exploit the patient care services by denying treatment to the poor patients and is inciting the patients against administration of the institution, the NEIGRIHMS pointed out.
Director NEIGRIHMS wanted the menace of illegal practices to be curbed once for all and warned the HoD Cardiology that the HoD will be personally responsible for any causality in the department as he is preventing other doctors and paramedics to perform their legitimate duties.
