Delhi CM inspects government hospital, missing drugs irk him

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday conducted a surprise visit to a government-run hospital in Northwest Delhi and directed officials to take action after he found an alleged violation in prescription norms by a doctor.

The chief minister, accompanied by health minister Satyendar Jain, went to several wards at the Maharishi Valmiki Hospital in Bawana area and talked to the patients there.

During the inspection, Mr Kejriwal took prescription card of a person present near a medicine counter and enquired about it, only to be told by the staff manning it that “the medicine prescribed by the doctor was not available”.

When the chief minister further enquired about it, the staff told him that, “the medicine was not available as it was not part of the inventory list”, AAP officials said.

Mr Arvind Kejriwal then sought to know from the medical superintendent of the 150-bed hospital as to why the medicine was prescribed if it was not in the list. The chief minister has directed officials to take action after finding this case, they said.

As per a recent government directive, only medicines listed in the inventory approved by the Delhi government are to be prescribed by doctors at government hospitals. Mr Kejriwal’s visit caught the doctors and officials by surprise even as the people approached him with their problems. Some were seen taking photos of the chief minister.

“Is everything alright here? Are you getting all the medicines?” Mr Kejriwal asked a patient.

On June 2, the CM paid a surprise visit to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital in west Delhi’s Hari Nagar area to take stock of the situation there.