IAS OFFICERS TO HANDLE PRIVATE HOSP PLAINTS

To ensure that private hospitals regulate their management, increase accountability, streamline bed management, and not overcharge patients or deny admission, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has tasked five Ias-level bureaucrats to oversee 35 private hospitals in Mumbai, alongside two municipal auditors per hospital.

Citizens who face problems at any private hospital can now complain to these assigned IAS officers via email. The complaints will be investigated by the IAS officers, and if found to be true, action will be taken against the owner or trustee of the hospital.

The officers will ensure that charges for patients for 80% of the beds are levied as per government norms.

They are also expected to ensure patients are discharged as per government policy; availability of beds is updated on the BMC dashboard in real-time; hospitals do not deny admission to symptomatic suspected or positive patients; and are not admitting asymptomatic patients. Any discrepancy will need to be brought to the attention of the BMC control room and municipal commissioner.

The officers-in-charge are deputy secretary of VJ/NT, Madan Nagargoje; managing director of Maharashtra Information Technology Corporation Ltd, Ajit Patil; chief officer of Mhada, Radhakrishnan; deputy secretary for school education Sushil Khodvekar; and joint managing director of Cidco, Prashant Narnavre.