Look for Drugs and Conditions

Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar with officials at RML Hospital

Ministers' surprise hospital inspection should not be mere optics

Rohit Shishodia

In a rare incident, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar inspected the food quality in the kitchen of Delhi’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

In a recent surprise inspection, she also met patients admitted in different wards and asked if they are being treated well in the hospital.

Not just this but MoS for Health and Family Welfare also discussed various issues with health workers and the medical superintendent of the hospital.

It is learned that last month, in August 2021, the Indian Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had also made a surprise visit to Safdarjung Hospital at night.

He along with other officials visited the new emergency ward and appeared to be unhappy with the conditions prevailing there.

It seems that these inspections of hospitals under the Central government- have become normal after new ministers took charge in the Union Cabinet.

The inspection by the ministers in two premier government hospitals of the national capital is a welcome step but it should not be mere optics too.

It has been experienced before that leaders and ministers visit hospitals but things do not get better.

Safdarjung and RML Hospital are the two major government health facilities that witness thousands of patients on a daily basis from Delhi NCR and nearby states.

The media has highlighted the shortcoming or lack of basic medical services in the hospital several times but improvement or making them available for the public takes much time.

It has been noticed on many occasions that patients have to run post to pillar to avail themselves of facilities such as ICU beds and ventilators.

There have been times when patients could not get timely treatment and they succumbed to disease due to a lack of ventilators and medicines.

However, if the ministers and authorities inspect the hospitals’ functioning and meet patients at a regular interval of time, it not just alerts the staff on duty but also sends a feeling of comfort and satisfaction among the patients that there is someone at the top level to listen to their grievances and direct officials for improvement.

But it should not be limited to inspections. If things get streamline by ministers’ visits then it will be fruitful.

Ensuring timely availability of beds, ICU beds, ventilators, medicine and diagnostics should be the prime focus of the government.

Only then their inspections of the hospital can inculcate the feeling of trust among the public and their attendants.


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