Nov. 24: Dispur is planning to set up grievance redress cells in private hospitals to bring more accountability in their functioning.

Health minister Bhumidhar Barman said he has instructed deputy commission recent transfer of a CBI official from Assam whowas in charge of the case.

er of Kamrup (metro) Samir Kumar Sinha to hold meetings with the authorities of all private hospitals and the public to seek their co-operation. The cell comprising officials, ordinary citizens and doctors will inquire into the allegations of the private hospitals charging exorbitant fees.

“Private hospitals have mushroomed all over the city. The majority of these hospitals dupe patients to make extra money. Some of the leading hospitals have been accused of declaring a dead patient in coma so that they can keep him for a few more days, and therefore, make some extra bucks,” an official said. The death of senior Assam police officer Manorama Kakoti Bhuyan last year at a leading hospital had raised doubts about the standards of medical care in private hospitals, as the family alleged that the death was caused due to negligence on the part of doctors.

In recent years, several private hospitals have been vandalised after patients allegedly died of either wrong treatment or negligence. In the majority of these cases, police and the administration failed to arrest the real culprits.

The cell will also look into issues of public interest. For instance, it will monitor whether the hospital authorities are adhering to pollution control norms. The Pollution Control Board, Assam, recently directed the private nursing homes to go for a common incinerator and a common effluent treatment plant for proper disposal of biomedical wastes.

Many hospitals do not have an incinerator, and in cases where this facility is available, the incinerator is not up to the mark.

A study conducted by the Assam Science Society revealed that out of 32 major hospitals in the city, only 15 hospitals have incinerators. Four other healthcare units have been using a common incinerator to dispose of infectious waste.