CM Shinde demands audit of govt hospitals following death of 59 people 

Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, on Thursday ordered an audit of the state’s government hospitals following unfortunate incidences in which patients died because there were not enough staff members or medications available in three different locations. 

Eknath Shinde called a meeting of the state’s top officials, including Manoj Saunik, the chief secretary of the state, Milind Mhaiskar, the additional chief secretary of the public health department, Dinesh Waghmare, the principal secretary of the medical education department, and all the state’s collectors.

In this meeting, CM Eknath Shinde requested that each district collector visit the government hospitals in their respective districts immediately, assess the facilities’ current state, check on the availability of staff members and physicians, and then submit factual reports with all pertinent information based on the circumstances at hand. The district collectors must also go to the main local healthcare system, the hospitals managed by municipal corporations, and the medical schools that are under their purview. In order to avoid delays in the acquisition and provision of the medications to the corresponding state-run hospitals, CM Eknath Shinde also granted authority to the district collectors to make purchases.

Eknath Shinde held the meeting with the concerned employees and officers through video conference from Delhi. Shinde travelled to Delhi for work. Shinde also provided District Collectors explicit instructions to frequently visit government hospitals. Through a video conferencing technology, the state’s collectors were present at the meeting, which was held in New Delhi.

Anyone responsible will face harsh punishment

A state-level committee has been established to look into the deaths that have occurred at the hospitals in Nanded and Ghati and has issued a warning that anyone responsible will face harsh punishment. Additionally, the Chief Minister directed that the purchasing of medications will proceed without interruption.

According to Eknath Shinde, the health system is their top focus. A short-term and long-term plan for the improvement of the health system is being developed by the state government, he further informed. “There will be no shortage of funds to purchase the medicines. The District Collectors should consider the responsibility of the health system in their district and visit different government hospitals in the district every day to review and take appropriate steps immediately,” according to Shinde.

In order to improve the health system, he advised the divisional commissioners, collectors, hospital superintendents, and district surgeons to collaborate. If necessary, more funding and equipment should also be swiftly provided.

“If there is a shortage of manpower, outsourcing powers have also been given at the district level, so if the efforts of the government to provide quality health facilities to the people of the state are delayed due to lack of resources, manpower, the concerned will be held responsible and action will be taken and the reasons for lack of medicines and manpower will not be tolerated,” he alerted.

He claimed that all hospitals should make efficient use of a state-level dashboard that tracks the supply of medications in order to be able to buy those that are urgently required.