MS admits prevalence of Middlemen Culture in B&J Hospital
SRINAGAR: A two year old kid was sent home twice from Bone and Joint Hospital while his father waited for three days before securing a referral by a doctor there for a private hospital for surgery.
Two year old kid from frontier district Kupwara, Mir Talish, son of Mir Saleem was injured and suffered fracture in his legs when he had a sudden fall from roof of his house. He was immediately rushed to SMHS Hospital where doctors directed him to have surgery at Bones and Joint Hospital.
My son was withering with pain whom I admitted in B&J Hospital Srinagar under MRD number 113302. Doctors refused to do a surgery saying that he is only two year old kid. They sent me home twice and when the pain of the child reached to an unbearable limit, I arrived in hospital again and the doctors, instead of treating him, directed me to admit the kid in GB Panth Hospital, Mir Saleem said.
He said that the doctors at GB Panth Hospital after seeing the condition of the kid were shocked and advised me to return him to Bone and Joint Hospital for an emergency surgery. I received a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Registrar GB Panth Hospital Dr Mohsin who in his letter requested the B&J Hospital doctors to do an immediate surgery of the kid, he said.
Saleem said that doctors at B&J Hospital after going through the NOC agreed to do the surgery. The doctors advised me to keep the stomach of the kid empty and did not administer him any food before the surgery. I did the same and after keeping my child hungry for 12 hours, the doctors refused to go for the surgery once again and instead one Dr Irfan from Fifth Unit of the hospital motivated me to get the child admitted in privately run Florence Hospital, Channapora for the surgery.
First these doctors wasted my time and let the child suffer from pain and then to earn some commission, asked me to move to private hospital, he said and alleged that these doctors have been acting as middlemen and have been forcing patients to visit private hospitals.
Medical Superintendent Bone and Joint Hospital Barzulla Dr Shabir admitted that some doctors in the hospital have been acting as middlemen and for sake of commission were forcing patients to visit private hospitals. This is the major problem which I have noticed here. I have been working hard to put an end to this middlemen culture. I request the father of the kid to approach me and identify the doctor or doctors himself and I will initiate action against them, Medical Superintendent said.