DMCH trolleys only for good tippers!

Areport by this paper has found staff of the DMCH engaged in extorting exorbitant tips for trolley service from people coming to the emergency department. What is worse is that they offer trolleys only to those who 'appear' to be able to pay up for a service that is supposed to be free of cost. This means poor patients who go to the public hospital because they cannot afford private health care, are left without this basic service.

Such blatant discrimination and corruption is unacceptable in a state-run hospital where thousands of sick people, many of them critically ill or injured, come to be treated. It is not credible that such wrongdoing has been going on without the knowledge of the higher authorities. If it is so, then those in charge of the administrative functions of the hospital are negligent of their responsibilities and hence should be held accountable.

The sheer dearth of trolleys and staff who operate them is also a major reason for this illegal practice. According to the hospital's official records around 800 people are treated everyday with around 250 admitted in different wards. But the number of trolleys is only 30. The long waits for a trolley or not getting one at all, is not surprising in such dire scarcity.

Corruption and inadequate staffing have been perennial problems in almost all of our public hospitals, DMCH being no exception. It is therefore inexcusable that such crises in as crucial a sector as healthcare should continue without intervention from the state. The government is obligated to probe into these anomalies and make sure the people they have appointed to run these public hospitals do their job.