Nagaland Medical Council (NMC) on Monday urged upon health department to initiate necessary action against those private health care establishments in Wokha, who were found to be running without licences.
NMC team during their surprise visit to Dr. Motsuo Memorial Hospital (Wokha district hospital) on February 17 had detected that six private health care establishments in Wokha were running without licences while the four were found to be run by government employed doctors.
NMC told Nagaland Post, that the team led by NMC president, Dr.L.M. Murry and three other council members conducted the visit on the knowledge of DC Wokha.
The department of health and family welfare on February last had asked all private healthcare establishments in the state to apply for fresh license or renewal of license from Nagaland Health Care Establishment authority.
It cautioned that any person, who establish or maintain a health care establishment without registration or license under Nagaland Health Care Establishment Act 1997 would be punishable as per the provisions of the Act.
In this regard, NMC has asked the Nagaland Health Care Establishment authority to look into the matter and initiate appropriate action at the departmental level.
While urging health department to initiate appropriate action on the issue, Nagaland Medical Council said any complaint that came under their notice would be examine under medical code of ethic of the Medical Council of India (MCI).
The council therefore, has asked those all private health care establishments to apply for license at the earliest failing which it would be compelled to shut down their establishments.
Nagaland Medical Council also asked doctor possessing a post graduate degree but not in the list of Schedule 11 of MCI to take up the matter directly to the MCI.
At Wokha district hospital, the team said it had found out that the infrastructure was “unsatisfactory” and the available equipments were not judiciously utilized.
Another setback in the hospital was the irregularities of the specialists where the surgeon and the anesthetist were not available on the same day-on normal working days, Nagaland Medical Council said.
Claiming that since there was only one anesthetist in the hospital, NMC said he must be present round the clock as without anesthetist, the surgeon, gynecologist and obstetrician cannot do any surgical procedure.
The council also found irregularities among the nursing staff while three specialists were found absent during the visit and there was no Ophthalmologist (Eye) or Orthopedician posted in the hospital.
They alleged that four residential quarters were unoccupied and most of the specialists were available only during emergency as per the roster.
Taking all this into account, the council insisted that health department should initiate serious action on the “truancy” by the specialist.
NMC said it had also discovered that some of the machines were lying “haphazardly” in the hospital.
To this, NMC has suggested that health department should act seriously on those medical officers who were not attending duties in the place of their posting.
It also urged the health department to provide proper information on NMC and Nagaland Health Care Establishment to all district administrations and regular inspections in health establishments both government and private by inspectors.