Days after Safdarjung Hospital got bad press over viral video, govt official praises its services

The supporting staff, he said, was very helpful and senior doctors -- Shishir Chandan of Neurology Department and K B Shankar of Neuro-Surgery Department -- were patiently hearing the problems of patients and advising them according to the protocol of the diseases.The senior government official added that there was a marked difference between the present situation and the kind of services provided by the facility around four years ago.

A senior central government official has written to Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan praising the services at Safdarjung Hospital here, stating that the facilities should be replicated across all hospitals in the country.

Notably, the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital came under severe criticism recently after a video of a woman delivering her baby outside its emergency wing went viral last week. The hospital administration had issued show cause notices to five doctors and barred three others from duties pending final inquiry report.

Praising the facilities at the hospital, Hukum Singh Meena, Additional Secretary, Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development on July 26 wrote to the Union health secretary. He said he visited the departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology and Neuro-Surgery at the hospital recently for the treatment of his wife and a relative. Out of the three cases, he said in two cases, he went without any reference of senior management.

''It is extremely appreciable to put on record that there was no crowd in the Department of Neurology and Neuro-Surgery. I observed that most of the patients were given serial numbers and they were sitting comfortably on a bench in a good environment. There was absolute peace and patients were orderly waiting for their turn,'' Meena wrote in the letter. The supporting staff, he said, was very helpful and senior doctors -- Shishir Chandan of Neurology Department and K B Shankar of Neuro-Surgery Department -- were patiently hearing the problems of patients and advising them according to the protocol of the diseases.

The senior government official added that there was a marked difference between the present situation and the kind of services provided by the facility around four years ago. ''It is again a remarkable change which I have seen vis-à-vis the three to four years in the past. There was absolute cleanliness and hygiene, and medicines were made available to each and every needy patient. ''Athough I have seen some negative news in print and electronic media, but that may be aberration and because of some circumstantial conditions. However, it is extremely appreciable that the kind of services and arrangements are extended in the hospital even under tremendous pressure from citizens,'' Meena mentioned in the letter.

''I think it will be a great service to the nation, if, the same arrangements may be replicated in other hospitals also. I sincerely thank the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the management of the Safdarjung Hospital for such an excellent arrangement for the citizens of this country,'' he added. PTI PLB SRY