As many as three doctors working with the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Mohalla Clinics have been removed by the Delhi government in the last three months, after it was revealed that they made multiple entries for many patients to jack up the number of patients they have attended to. The latest such incident came to light in north-west Delhi in January.
Wish Foundation, responsible for monitoring and evaluating the data of patients, was the one to spot the irregularites. "Three Mohalla Clinic doctors have been de-empanelled as they were making multiple entries for patients. One of them was from the north-east district. We have a proper mechanism to track each and every entry done in these clinics. The report is submitted to the Delhi government on a regular basis," said Irfan Khan, Head of the Programme, Delhi and NCR, Wish Foundation.
The organisation has a team of 10 monitors supporting the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) in every district. As per the data collated by the Foundation, 70 patients per clinic were reported on Wednesday. The highest number of patients was reported in September, with around three lakh people visiting the clinic. This was the time when the clinics were functional for all seven days in a week.
On Wednesday, DNA had reported how the much-appreciated project had come under the scanner after surfacing of various complaints. According to the Vigilance Department, it received complaints that records showed that the doctors were attending to as many as 533 patients in just four hours. "We have certain markers and if a team smells a rat, it flags it to us. Then we take appropriate action," Khan added.
Meanwhile, the CDMOs of all the districts in Delhi have submitted their replies to the Health Department, after they were questioned regarding the overall functioning of the Mohalla Clinics by the Vigilance Department. Most of the medical officers cited lack of proper mechanism as one of the major reasons why such false entries were being made in the register.
"There is no proper mechanism to verify the enteries uploaded on the system. The enteries are checked and collated by the Wish Foundation. We are just asked to approve them," a CDMO said.
In a letter, the department had raised 11 points of concern, to which it sought replies from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the CDMOs. The former DGHS has already submitted his reply to the department and the CDMOs are now preparing their replies to send to the Vigilance Department.
"The CBI should intervene in the matter. How can a single doctor attend to 533 patients in 4 hours? That makes it one patient every 36 seconds," Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari said.
TALE IN FIGURES
Currently, there are 110 mohalla clinics operating from various parts of the Capital, in which 106 doctors work. Every doctor gets Rs 30 per patient per day in these clinics, which are operational from 9 am to 1 pm.
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