Keonjhar: The district headquarters hospital here was again in the news for all the wrong reasons where the staff reportedly demanding money from patients has been a routine.
A tribal woman Gita Munda from Rangamatia narrated her plight to a woman social worker about how she was forced to pay money for her pregnant daughter’s treatment.
Gita said she had brought her daughter to the hospital Sunday, but the baby had died during delivery Thursday. “Some hospital staff had coerced her into paying them `400 and later `300 for the delivery. They were hell-bent on taking money from me and paid no heed to my pleadings. Now, I am left with only `100. How will I take my daughter home,” Gita rued.
Women patients are financially exploited after miscarriage of their pregnancies, locals alleged. The illegal practice of demanding bribe from patients has not been stopped here despite complaints lodged with the hospital authorities on a regular basis, they claimed.
Some patients even alleged that some staffers do not have qualms to demand money from them even for removing saline drips.
“The hospital staffers are exploiting patients on various pleas every day. There should be an investigation into the illegal activities,” said social activists Ranjit Sehti.
The hospital authorities have turned a deaf ear to such complaints, Sethi said, adding the collector should initiate steps to check the illegal practice so that poor patients get relief.
BJP leader Gopinath Ram demanded investigation into this incident and warned of agitation if the administration takes the incident lightly. PNN
