Municipal Corporation Hospital, Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 18: The municipal corporation has sought explanation from eight doctors posted at the BMC hospital for remaining absent from duty during a surprise visit by civic officials.

The eight doctors, including three medicine specialists, were not present during outdoor hours last week.

“All of them were absent during a surprise visit to the hospital. We have asked them to submit their explanations, failing which, stringent action will be taken,” said the corporation’s additional commissioner Krushna Prasad Pati.

The hospital’s outdoor hours are from 8am to 12noon and again from 3pm to 5pm. Around 1,000 patients visit the hospital and five dispensaries on a daily basis.

The civic body has constituted a team of four officials to inspect the functioning of the BMC hospital and its five dispensaries located at Sunderpada, Brahmeswarpatna, Rasulgarh, Bharatpur and Gadakana. The Municipal Corporation Hospital, Bhubaneswar, has 25 doctors.

The absence of the doctors has also affected heath services at the 108-bed hospital, which is currently functioning without specialists in a number of departments including radiology and orthopaedics.

“While the corporation is planning to set up a 500 bed hospital at Gadakana, the authorities are yet to take any step to revive the BMC hospital, which is facing staff crunch and sanitation problems. The authorities should introduce a bio-metric attendance system for doctors,” said Anirudh Rout, a resident of Old Town.

“We have also sought explanation from a doctor posted at a dispensary. The surprise visits will continue,” said a corporation official.