B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Fleecing of patients at Faridkot medical college
Blow to doc-chemist nexus
Faridkot, November 14
After many instances of unscrupulous doctors at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital (GGSMCH), Faridkot, forcing the patients to purchase drugs of a particular brand from a specific shop to pocket hefty commission, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) has sought to nullify the doctor-chemist nexus.

Head constable suspended
Muktsar, November 14
After the death of a two-and-half-year-old boy in a head-on collision between a Skoda Octavia car and a Honda Activa here this afternoon, a head constable was suspended. He had allegedly attempted to shield the accused by pulling out some “controversial” material from the car.

Toy bank launched on Children's Day
Bathinda, November 14
Taking a unique initiative on Children's Day, the Mansa administration has started a toy bank for 800 Anganwadi centres, taking care of 35,000 kids in the district. The bank was opened today at Bachat Bhawan by Deputy Commissioner Amit Dhaka. He presented hundreds of toys to the excited kids.

Fleecing of patients at Faridkot medical college
Blow to doc-chemist nexus
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, November 14
After many instances of unscrupulous doctors at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital (GGSMCH), Faridkot, forcing the patients to purchase drugs of a particular brand from a specific shop to pocket hefty commission, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) has sought to nullify the doctor-chemist nexus.

To check the practice, the university has put up notice boards at prominent places in the hospital urging patients to buy medicines from a shop of their choice at a competitive price. “If doctors recommend a particular chemist to you, lodge a complaint with us,” the notice board reads.

Days after the university terminated the services of an oncologist for recommending a particular shop to buy drugs for cancer and got a criminal case registered against the proprietor of six medicine shops in GGSMCH for fleecing patients, it is now ensuring liberty to patients in buying drugs from any chemist at a competitive price, said Dr SS Gill, vice-chancellor, BFUHS.

"As the price of a large number of drugs has been artificially inflated, with backhanders paid to chemists who agree to sell and the doctors who recommend these drugs, we want patients to purchase drugs where they could get it at a competitive price," said Sanjiv Goyal, deputy medical superintendent of the college.

"But putting up notice boards at different places in the hospital, we want to make the patients aware about the practice of them being fleeced. We are also taking strict action against the doctors who indulge in such practice. Some days back, the services of an oncologist were terminated as he was recommending a particular shop to the patients to buy the drugs. The shop belongs to the family members of this doctor,” said the VC.

Earlier, some doctors were in the habit of rejecting the medicines if these were brought from places other than those specified by them. Some time back, Punjab Human Rights Commission had ordered an inquiry against an orthopaedist as he was prescribing unnecessary sugar syrups and energy boosters of particular brands to the patients to pocket huge commission in the sale of these drugs at inflated rates.

There are even cases when doctors are threatened by medical representatives for taking incentives and not meeting the targets of recommending their brand of medicines.

Head constable suspended

Muktsar, November 14
After the death of a two-and-half-year-old boy in a head-on collision between a Skoda Octavia car and a Honda Activa here this afternoon, a head constable was suspended. He had allegedly attempted to shield the accused by pulling out some “controversial” material from the car.

Sukhleen Singh, the only child of Gursharan Singh, a goldsmith at Gandhi Chowk here, was going to the market with his mother Navjot Kaur and aunt Sukhpal Kaur on the scooter when the car collided head-on with their vehicle killing him on the spot and leaving the two women injured.

Some passersby nabbed the car driver and handed him over to the police. They alleged that the driver was in an inebriated condition. He was identified as the owner of an automobile workshop on Bathinda road.

The bereaved family members said, “Some packets of narcotics were lying in the car, which the head constable had taken out and given to a person sitting in another car,” they alleged.

Muktsar SSP Surjit Singh said, “During the preliminary investigation, head constable Jaspal Singh was not found to be at fault. But he has been suspended as he failed to control the situation. Things will become clear only after a detailed probe.” — TNS

Toy bank launched on Children's Day

Bathinda, November 14
Taking a unique initiative on Children's Day, the Mansa administration has started a toy bank for 800 Anganwadi centres, taking care of 35,000 kids in the district.

The bank was opened today at Bachat Bhawan by Deputy Commissioner Amit Dhaka. He presented hundreds of toys to the excited kids.

The administration has chalked out an ambitious plan to improve the infrastructure in Anganwadi kendras and it could only be possible through the support from various sections of society, the DC added.

Dhaka said the toy bank has been set up by the District Red Cross Society and was aimed at providing sufficient toys to the needy kids. Besides making arrangements for their diet, other facilities too were being created, he added.

The DC revealed that 25 new modern centres, five each in all the blocks, namely, Mansa, Budhlada, Sardulgarh, Bhikhi and Jhunir, would be set up soon. The centres would have information oriented paintings, wall papers, games and modern furniture. — TNS