Gandhi Hospital cracks the whip

Memos served, staffer sacked

In quick response to Hyderabad Hans report , ‘At Gandhi Hospital business is never dead’, Dr Chandrasekhar, Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital, has served memos to all the doctors, LDCs and Class IV staff who work in the mortuary. The hospital authorities have also terminated the services of Majid Ali, one of the members of the mortuary staff, and are now facing the tune of the union.

Dr Chandrasekhar told Hyderabad Hans, “We took action as soon as we read the report in The Hans India. I took charge only three months ago and this is news to me. We have literally interrogated the staff and taken written statements from them.”

Dr Chandrashekar continued: “We got into action as soon as we read the report. I went personally with my RMOs to the mortuary. Showing the written statements, he said, “We have taken these statements from the staff. We have removed one employee from the job. But then these employees who work in the mortuary are specialised and we rarely get men with these skills. The members of the staff accept that they are taking Rs 200-250 for the white cloth to wrap up the body. There is no supply of this cloth from the government. We have written to the government. Using this as a pretext, the staff may have taken extra money. But we have to give leverage to a few of their habits because of their specialisation.”

Dr Chandrashekar said that he would be submitting a report to Ajay Sawhney, IAS, and L V Subramanyam, principal, who is the drawing officer of the mortuary. “We will take stringent action if they are taking more money than needed for the cloth,” he warned.

The hospital superintendent alleged that often the cops took money. “Sometimes our officers also get nailed. Corruption is not tolerable in any form and we will suspend more members of staff. Giving them memos was the first warning. He does want this kind of corruption brought to his notice to increase efficiency and to bring in trust among poor people about government hospitals and an “image makeover” is a must he believes. “As a human body would not effectively function without one body part, so is the case with a hospital without a mortuary,” he observed.

The members of staff of the mortuary see things from a different perspective. They say that given the nature of their work and the environment in which they operate they deserve extra incentives. “The services that are offered to the people by mortuary attendants must be appreciated as is the case with nurses, doctors, police personnel and others. Every worker, regardless of his or her level of education, knows well what is deserved.”

This will help mortuary attendants to serve the people whole-heartedly, resulting in reduced incidences of body swapping and other related cases in our hospitals, say the mortuary staff.