Visit government clinics and hospitals: Chief Secretary to Delhi Health Minister
The Chief Secretary (CS) has been instructed by Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj to visit government hospitals and mohalla clinics on a daily basis in order to confirm the availability of medications, as well as to share the daily report and submit a roster of his visits.
Last week, the Health Minister’s office noted that hospitals in Delhi were severely short on free medications. Due to the lack of medications, the minister called the Health Secretary and the CS.
The minister had said on Friday that reports from the ground revealed an alarming lack of free pharmaceuticals; however, the CS and Secretary (Health) maintain that all patients are, in fact, getting all necessary prescriptions or appropriate substitutes.
The Office of the Health Minister accused the CS and the Secretary (Health) of flagrantly deceiving the government and the Legislative Assembly about the accessibility of medications.
Many MLAs angrily denied the CS’s bogus allegations during the Legislative Assembly debate. “The CS was asked to guarantee the supply of medications, and he is attempting to hide behind the Delhi Legislative Assembly’s Rules of Business.” The Health Minister said, “He could have used those efforts to work for the people of Delhi.”
The Health Minister said, “The CS should do positive work as directed by the government instead of looking for new frivolous excuses every time.” His office further said that, as an afterthought, the CS produced the ridiculous justification that as the CS does not handle any departmental regular files, he is unable to monitor the supply of medications and consumables.
The Health Minister has ordered that the CS follow certain guidelines regarding the provision of medications without any justification.
During the term of previous Chief Secretaries, SK Srivastava through Vijay Dev, routine department filings were never passed via the CS. But the CS is always in charge of overseeing the secretaries of other departments,” Bhardwaj said.
