IMPHAL, Dec 22: The chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh has assured the House today that the deteriorating service standard of one of the premiere hospitals of the North East RIMS at Imphal, due to complete administrative failures and degenerating professional ethics of the doctors which led to frequent complaints by the patients and patient parties will be brought to the notice of concerned Union health minister and Prime Minister of India for necessary actions.
The chief minister was replying to a calling attention motion jointly raised by the senior Opposition members O Joy Singh of MPP, MLA, Dr. Ng Bijoy Singh, MLA, Dr. I Ibohalbi singh and MLA, RK Anand.
He said the state government had made cautions and made sincere afforts to raise the RIMS to the status of AIMS with an objective of providing adequate health care facilities for the common people who cannot afford treatment outside the state at better facilities.
He blasted the RIMS authorities for letting this expectation down as evidenced by the sharp increase in unwanted incidents like, scuffles between doctors and patients parties, reports of patients dying due to the negligence of doctors, frequent delivery deaths cases etc.
He said, since the RIMS is under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Health and Family welfare government of India, state government cannot directly interfere in its administrative reforms although this is the need of the hour.
He warned the authorities of the RIMS that they need to understand that RIMS exist for the people, especially people of the state.
The chief minister while admitting the opinions placed on the floor of the House by the movers of the call attention motions agreed that the RIMS has failed the people since the last five or six years depleting the people’s confidence in this institution.
He further said, many time state government had reminded the RIMS authorities to rectify their ways but there are no signs that the advice has been heeded.
The authorities of RIMS and the incompetent doctors and staffs have degraded their professions clearly demonstrating their high headedness on the presumption that the state government will not be able to do anything to them, the chief miniser said.
He said his government takes the matter seriously and agreed this is the appropriate time to place the issue for discussion before the House.
He also mentioned that likewise lack of accountability has made many other government employees, especially in sector of health and educations in state wayward and this must be rectified at the soonest.
They send off their own children and patients to private schools and private hospital leaving neglecting the institutions that pays them for their services. This has obviously had a telling effect on the quality of services they provide.
He said the state government will directly approach to the Union health minister and Prime Minister of India in the nearest future to send officials from the Union health ministry to the RIMS and conduct thorough enquiry of the administrative structure.
Regarding the death of O Subhas, son of senior Opposition member O Joy on November 25 due to alleged negligence by the doctors at the time of admission on the November 25 afternoon, the chief minister said, the incident was very unfortunate and preliminary enquiry reports from the RIMS authority was submitted to the state government in which RIMS authorities mentioned that there was no lapses in both clinical and medical treatment by the doctors on the day, the chief minister told the House.
In the meantime, senior opposition member O Joy Singh while initiating his calling attention motion said the motion was not in his personal interest, for it has become necessary that the matter be brought before the House so as to have the RIMS pull its socks up.
O Joy further said, RIMS which is aiming to attain to the status of AIMS is now becoming one of premiere medical institutions of the North Eastern states, but accumulating disorder in delivering health care facilities in this institutions resulted in frequent occurrences of unwanted eventualities.
He said the doctors also lack a sense of responsibility to their patients. There is also a shortage of attending specialists duty doctors or duty registrar in casualty or in the wards he added saying those present lack the skill.
He said in this regard there is a need to take a House resolution and convey this to the concern Union health ministry to send their officials and conduct a thorough enquiry.
He further said, for more than five hours his late son who was brought in a coma on November 25 was kept without oxygen and further charged inaccurate treatment/first aid and inability to maintain proper treatment infrastructures.
While supporting the motion, MLA, Dr Ng Bijoy Singh, former director RIMS mentioned in the House today that the health care delivery systems in the RIMS hospital has suddenly worsened since last five/six years, and it seems the entire administrative systems of the RIMS has become corrupt.
He said unlike in the past, many of the senior doctors and duty registrar have not seen deployed in the emergency casualty ward at present to deal cases of chronic and serious illness, the casualty is seen run by a group of house surgeons, interns and PG students.
He also further mentioned that, RIMS is not lacking in specialists and experts but due to the failure to maintain many of the machineries and equipment and failure of timely repair has had made defunt many services. He added expert technicians of the RIMS have been getting their salaries without duty and it is in the hands of the authorities to maintain all these.
MLA Dr Ibohalbi and MLA RK Anand also mentioned that the frequent occurrence of unwanted eventualities between the patient parties and doctors at the hospital has become a routine drama in RIMS which tarnished the entire reputation of developing premiere hospital like RIMS.
