Delhi L-G directs health secretary for immediate posting of doctors in Asha Kiran shelter home

New Delhi: Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has directed the health secretary for immediate posting of doctors against the vacant posts in Asha Kiran shelter home for the intellectually challenged, after a report flagged a surge in the cases of tuberculosis and gastroenteritis, Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday.

The directions were issued following a report that was sought by Saxena on the Asha Kiran shelter home where 14 deaths were reported in July.

AAP said their stand on the shortage of doctors and the negligence of the administrator of the home had been vindicated. They demanded strict action against erring officials.

According to Raj Niwas officials, the report submitted to Saxena flagged issues like overcrowding, absence of doctors, the prevalence of communicable diseases, poor ventilation and cleanliness, absence of medical records, and lack of drinking water facilities, among others at the home.

Officials said the L-G has taken a strong view of the enquiry report that the chief medical officer (CMO) submitted on July 19, which attributed a surge in the cases of acute gastroenteritis and TB on account of malnutrition and negligence due to lack of supervision by the superintendent and welfare officers.

They added that the CMO also highlighted poor hygiene and sanitary conditions and pointed out that the administrator, despite several alerts, chose not to act.

The L-G has directed the chief secretary to initiate disciplinary action against the administrator of the shelter home by serving him a show-cause notice and the removal of the duty medical officer for obstructing the investigation into the deaths of the inmates.

The enquiry report also stated that a superintendent, in a communication to the CMO on July 6, had flagged that there was a rise in TB cases and the inmates had even died of the disease.

The primary reasons attributed to such deaths were late diagnosis and absence of treatment. The report also mentioned that the manual for functionaries of institutions and services, issued by the Department of Social Welfare, was not being followed, especially in matters related to the visit of the medical officers, administration of medicine by nursing staff and medical staff accompanying the patients to outside health facilities.

"It is incomprehensible that in the eventuality of the outbreak of communicable disease, why isolation of inmates was not done to prevent its spread. It is also brought out that there is extreme overcrowding and the number of inmates is way beyond the capacity of the facility resulting in inhuman conditions for the inmates," the L-G noted.

The L-G has also sought immediate action on infrastructure up-gradation and procurement of additional equipment at the facility, while the social welfare department, which runs the Asha Kiran home, has been told to maintain a digital record of all inmates, tracking history of their treatment, health parameters, and nutritional inputs.

Saxena has asked the chief secretary for redressal, improvement and monitoring since the social welfare department does not have a minister.

Officials said the L-G had earlier sought a 'white paper' on the revamp and refurbishment of all such facilities after the death of inmates of the Asha Kiran Home. He has now directed the chief secretary to review its progress while issuing instructions to upgrade the infrastructure at the shelter home on a war footing.

A report submitted by the district social welfare officer pointed out that 12 posts of doctors were vacant at the facility, while there was an absence of specialised training for the staff required to handle patients. The report also mentioned that the diet plan did not meet the nutritional requirements and basic facilities such as exhaust fans, air purifiers, air conditioning, water purifiers, and advanced diagnostic equipment were missing.

Reacting to the development, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the elected government of Delhi has been saying that the kind of officers who were posted at Asha Kiran Shelter Home shows that the ‘Services’ department which comes directly under the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) had no sensitivity towards the vulnerable conditions of the inmates of the shelter home.

"They had posted a corrupt officer as an administrator of this shelter home. It is on record that this officer was caught red-handed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), taking bribes while he was SDM," the party claimed in a statement.

"We have been asking L-G why such an officer was posted as administrator of Asha Kiran Home and the L-G office has not responded. The AAP has been demanding strict action against the administrator but the L-G office has not taken any action yet," they alleged.

The AAP said it had been claiming that there was a serious scarcity of doctors and paramedic staff at Asha Kiran Shelter Home and this was the real cause of mismanagement at the shelter home.

"It is also very well known that the transfer and posting of doctors and paramedics lies directly under the control of L-G. However, the L-G office had been giving an excuse for the NCCSA meeting while knowing very well that no such proposal was pending before NCCSA and when this matter reached the High Court, without an NCCSA meeting, doctors and paramedic staff were posted at Asha Kiran Shelter Home," the party claimed.