SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 8: Despite clean chit from Medical Boards to a private nursing home over medical negligence charge, a retired Regional Deputy Director (RDD) of North Chhotanagpur Hazaribagh Division Dr Gopal Das has landed in the soup.
Joint secretary of the state government Vidyanand Sharma Pankaj, while rejecting his clarification over giving clean chit to a nursing home, has shot off a notice to Dr Das to reply by July 20, 2022, why not 20% of his pension should be deducted for 7 years as per Jharkhand Government Pension Manual Section 139 (G).
A lady patient (Soni Kumari) of Bokaro was admitted to Dhanbad’s Chakraborty Nursing Home on June 7, 2019. She was referred to Bokaro General Hospital from where she was shifted to Medica Hospital in Ranchi. Later, she died on June 24, 2019.
Her husband charged medical negligence on the part of Chakraborty Nursing Home. The then Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar ordered the Medical Board under the supervision of the then ADM (law and order) Anil Kumar and the then Civil Surgeon Dr Gopal Das.
The Medical Board comprising Dr Pratibha Ray (head of the department of gynaecology) Dr Abdul Jabbar Ansari (medicine) and Dr Pravesh Kumar (surgery) of Patliputra Medical College Hospital gave a clean chit to the nursing home due to a lack of facts in the complaint.
On the basis of the Medical Board’s report, Dr Das sent his report to the deputy commissioner. The ADM had also to sign the report but he had been transferred by then.
However, the husband of the deceased patient lodged a complaint with the state government challenging the clean chit to the nursing home. The state government then sent two members of the medical board comprising senior medical officer Dr Krishna Kumar (present director-in-chief health) and Dr Vijay Bihari. This Medical Board also gave a clean chit to the nursing home.
However, the state government on February 28, 2022, sought clarification from Dr Gopal Das (who had then assumed the office of regional deputy director North Chhotanagpur Hazaribagh division). He replied to the show-cause notice before retiring from service in March.
The state government rejected his clarification and on July 5, 2022, shot off another notice for deducting his 20% pension for 7 years. Dr Das has to reply by July 20.
An office-bearer of the Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA) said that Dr Das gave his report to the deputy commissioner as well as the state government based on Medical Boards’ observations. Action should be taken against Medical Board members if it was wrong. Moreover, the deputy commissioner had jointly assigned the then ADM (law and order) Anil Kumar and Dr Das. Both attended Medical Board also. “So it is wrong to make Dr Das escape alone,” said the JHSA office-bearer of headquarters.
Due to Covid-19, Dr Das sent a report to ADM law and order in 2021. Notably, at that time, Anil Kumar had been transferred and Chandan Kumar (IAS) took over the charge.
