Delhi lieutenant governor seeks CBI probe into alleged faux lab assessments at Mohalla clinics

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Thursday sought an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into alleged faux laboratory assessments on the state government-run Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics, The Indian Specific reported.

The lieutenant governor’s workplace has alleged that the Mohalla clinics performed lakhs of faux pathology and radiology assessments on non-existent sufferers. The funds for these assessments had been made to personal laboratories within the identify of referrals as a part of the alleged rip-off, Saxena has alleged.

The nationwide capital has 533 Aam Aadmi Mohalla Clinics that comprise a physician and paramedical workers. Since January 2023, the Aam Aadmi Get together authorities in Delhi has been offering 450 forms of medical assessments without cost to poor sufferers at these clinics.

The federal government had employed two personal corporations to conduct these assessments.

The rip-off runs into lots of of crores of rupees, at the price of the poorest of the poor within the nationwide capital, the lieutenant governor’s workplace has alleged.

This comes after the vigilance and the state well being division had performed an inquiry to look into the laboratory investigations that had been outsourced to personal diagnostic corporations, reported The Indian Specific. The inquiry discovered that faux, duplicate and non-existent cellular numbers had been used to register sufferers for laboratory assessments.

The inquiry discovered that funds had been made for lakhs of faux assessments. Solely the digit 0 had been entered for 11,657 cellular numbers belonging to sufferers.

The vigilance and the state well being division additionally discovered that whereas 8,251 cellular numbers had been clean, 3,092 sufferers’ cellular numbers had been entered as 9999999999. At the least 400 cellular numbers started with the digits 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 which are non-existent cellular numbers. In 999 instances, cellular numbers had been repeated 15 or extra instances.

The lieutenant governor’s workplace has additionally alleged that some sufferers had been supplied medical consultations by unauthorised workers within the absence of medical doctors.

In September, Delhi Well being Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that 26 medical doctors and workers members of Mohalla clinics had been suspended for faux attendance.

Following their suspension, the Delhi authorities had additionally ordered an inquiry. That is when the alleged rip-off had come to gentle.

On Thursday, Bharadwaj stated that it’s the responsibility of the executive officers in control of the state well being division to make sure that such lapses don’t happen.

“Who has appointed the Directorate Common of Well being Providers, Well being Secretary,” Bharadwaj stated at a press convention. “These appointed by them [Centre] are a part of this rip-off. After which they’re recommending an inquiry. So you’re investigating your self not us.”

Final yr, the Bharatiya Janata Get together authorities within the Centre had promulgated the Authorities of Nationwide Capital Territory of Delhi (Modification) Ordinance to create an authority to manage the switch and posting of bureaucrats serving the Delhi authorities.

Bharadwaj stated that if the alleged rip-off is operating into lots of of crores of rupees then the Centre ought to droop the Delhi well being secretary.