Delhi's Mohalla Clinics face scrutiny over alleged fake diagnostic tests
The Home Ministry has ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into alleged corruption in supply of substandard medicines and fake tests done in various government hospitals and mohalla clinics.
Delhi's mohalla clinics are the flagship healthcare projects of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
Yesterday, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor had asked the CBI to investigate corruption allegations in diagnostic tests done at Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics, sources have said.
The mohalla clinics allegedly ran fake radiology and pathology tests without any patients, sources said.
Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had also flagged the matter on September 20, following which seven doctors posted at Mohalla Clinics were removed. Some doctors would come to the clinics very late and still mark full attendance, while others would bunk the whole day.
Mr Bharadwaj today welcomed the CBI investigation into the mohalla clinic case, but alleged the Centre of "protecting" the health secretary.
"As soon as I became minister, I gave instructions to audit the medicines, but the city health secretary did not get the audit done. We welcome the CBI investigation, but why is the Centre protecting the health secretary?" the AAP leader alleged.
Mr Bharadwaj said they have asked the Lieutenant Governor to remove the Health Secretary Deepak Kumar immediately.
Just days ago, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had ordered another probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into alleged supply of substandard medicines to Delhi government hospitals.
In the mohalla clinic case, initial investigation found that doctors who had not been coming to the clinics had been marked as present. The clinics continued to prescribe diagnostic tests for patients who did not exist, sources said.
The Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinic infrastructure was conceptualised as a mechanism to provide primary healthcare accessible to communities in Delhi at their doorstep.
These hyperlocal clinics cater to the needs of not only the population of Delhi but also migratory and floating population from neighbouring states, which makes for a considerable patient load. There are also many areas, particularly slums, where the poor do not get easily get primary healthcare.