Chandigarh: A private hospital in Haryana is facing allegations of admitting fake patients to show bed strength ahead of its mandatory inspection by the Medical Council of India.
The inspection is a prerequisite for recognition as a medical college. The council guidelines mandate that a hospital looking at admitting 100 MBBS students must have 600 beds with at least 70 percent patient occupancy.
In an audio clip, that has gone viral, a person alleged to be an employee of the hospital can be heard offering money to villagers for posing as patients. The Haryana government has ordered an inquiry into the matter.
Adesh Hospital in Haryana allegedly paid villagers to pose as patients on October 3 when a team from the state health department visited the hospital for ground inspection.
"Sir, we need people from your village...tomorrow there is (an) inspection at our college. The health minister is coming. We want to take these people with us. We will admit them as patients. They just have to pose as patients. We will arrange free food and pay Rs 200 per person," the alleged employee is heard telling JD Singh, a former village head in the clip.
"I had got phone call from their employee. He offered to give Rs 200 to each villager who would pose as a patient before the inspection team," Mr Singh later told NDTV.
The hospital authorities have denied that the person in the audio clip is an employee. "He is not on our rolls and we definitely don't give anyone money for posing as a patient. You can see the hospital...it is running very well and we intend to reach the standards set by the MCI (Medical Council of India) by the time of the inspection in January or February next year," Dr Mandeep Singh, Principal, Adesh Hospital said.