Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Mar 26: In the wake of furore over the deaths of an elderly woman and a young girl a week after they attended a free health check-up camp at Panaje in Puttur, deputy commissioner A B Ibrahim on Wednesday March 25 decided to put on hold the Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme in the district.
The temporary suspension of the scheme will be in place till the probe report of the case is submitted, the DC informed.
The camp at Panaje primary health centre had been held under the Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme. Among the 24 people who got themselves examined during the camp, 13 were asked to undergo advanced treatment and sugeries in Mangaluru, and were sent to Omega hospital. Two of the patients - Poovakka (69) and Ayishath Haseena (9) died about a week later, while the condition of four others deteriorated.
Angry locals and relatives had protested in front of Panaje primary health centre following the deaths, and had tried to assault health officers who came to the spot. The district government health department officials and personnel met the DC on Wednesday to register their protest against the assault attempt and urged action again in the matter. It was then that the DC issued the order to suspend Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme.
The DC also gathered information on the case from the doctors concerned, and issued instructions to submit a report on the various government schemes in hospitals in the district, details about the beneficiaries of the schemes, details of hospitals offering the government schemes and so on.
"Government schemes have become a means of making money for private hospitals. There should be a system where the patient's health is monitored even after the patient is discharged from the hospital. The people's pain in this particular case is evident and understandable. It is the responsibility of the health department to respond to their concerns," DC Ibrahim told the government doctors who met him.
He also instructed the health officers to submit the post-mortem reports to him.
District health officer Dr Ramakrishna Rao assured that a probe would be conducted into the deaths of the two patients and other issues pertaining to the case.
"In this case, as the protestors at Panaje alleged that the two deaths occured due to some lapse during the surgeries done at Omega hospital, I immediately left for Puttur to investigate and listen to the people's grievances, but they tried to assault us. The issue has been brought to the attention of the deputy director of Suvarna Arogya Trust which implements the Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme," Dr Ramakrishan Rao said.
Speaking to media persons, DC Ibrahim said, "The hospital should monitor the health of patients who undergo surgeries even after they are discharged from the hospital. We will ask Omega hospital to submit a report on this case."