Patients fall prey to touts at Mata Kaushalya Hospital

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 25

Touts at Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital continue to allure patients into buying medicines from specific chemist stores situated outside the hospital premises. Also, the touts allegedly guide the patients on behalf of their respective doctors to undergo tests at the recommended labs.

No doctor at the hospital is allowed to keep any private person in their OPD room. I will conduct a check in the hospital on Monday — Dr Sandeep Kaur, Medical Superintendent, Mata Kaushalya Hospital

Moreover, specialist doctors, despite repeated reminders by the authorities, have been prescribing expensive brands instead of generic medicines. And certain brands are available only at certain chemist shops only.

Notably, generic medicines have the same salts as do the brands and are very cost effective for the patients. The hospital also has Jan Aushadhi Medical Store where generic medicines are available at subsidised rates.

When The Tribune reporter visited one of the specialist doctors at Mata Kaushalya Hospital, it was found that doctor wrote only branded medicines, and the private attendant there asked to buy medicines from outside the hospital. He said the prescribed medicines were not available at the hospital. The private attendant, thereafter, guided the reporter to a specific chemist shop outside the hospital.

With no strict check by the authorities at the hospital, the specialists are brazenly fleecing the poor patients, say the experts. The authority, seemingly, is seeing the practice as normal one, and, therefore, is not bothered in this regard, add the experts.

Meanwhile, Dr Sandeep Kaur, Medical Superintendent, Mata Kaushalya Hospital, said, “No doctor at the hospital is allowed to keep any private person in their OPD room. I will conduct a check in the hospital on Monday.”