Ahmedabad: As part of the ongoing drive against hospitals flouting norms for the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), the state health department on Tuesday suspended two hospitals in Rajkot, while one hospital each in Bharuch and Vadodara was penalised. The decision was made after the hospitals were found to be involved in practices such as forging a rubber stamp, flouting norms for surgeries, lacking building use (BU) permissions and fire safety certificates, and tampering with sonography plates and reports, among other violations.
State health minister Rushikesh Patel said that the PM-JAY scheme is for the betterment of poor patients and no scam will be tolerated. “All empanelled hospitals are being checked,” he said. “We are also ensuring that no patient suffers due to the drive.”
The hospitals involved include Krishna Surgical Hospital and Swastik Multispecialty Hospital in Rajkot, Jayaben Modi Hospital in Bharuch and Bankers Superspecialty Hospital in Vadodara.
“In an audit carried out by the insurance firm, it was found that the Swastik Hospital made changes in ultrasound sonography (USG) and histopathology examination (HPE) reports in 196 cases. The hospital is immediately barred from the scheme, and other hospitals run by the same management will also face action,” said a senior official.
Along with a penalty of Rs 2.94 crore, the hospital specialist, Dr Rajesh Kandoriya, has been debarred from the scheme, added officials.
“Krishna Hospital’s BU certificate and fire NOC expired. The hospital did not have an AERB certificate. The hospital did not have adequate human resources, and its ICU was found to be substandard in terms of hygiene. In one case, there was a discrepancy in the OT note and anaesthesia note, raising suspicion,” said an official. “The hospital is suspended until the issues are addressed.”
At Jayaben Modi Hospital, the tumour board certificate (TBC) uploaded in TMS software was found to be forged. A total of Rs 33.4 lakh will be recovered from the hospital. Further penalties will be decided in the state grievance redressal committee (SGRC). The Vadodara was found to be flouting PM-JAY norms and was asked to pay Rs 57.51 lakh as penalty.
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