HEALTH

Inter-faculty tussle ‘ails’ Fortis
Chitleen K. Sethi
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 28
Has the Fortis Heart Institute, one of the top notch cardiac care centres in the region, become a hot bed of inter-faculty warfare and discontentment?

Some of the incidents that have happened in the hospital in the past few months are definitely pointing to the beginning of such a situation. According to sources the doctors in the hospital are getting divided into two groups, each led by highly powerful cardiac surgeon, both compete with each other for the best of everything that the hospital has to offer, which includes the ‘best patients’, the maximum amount of publicity possible and of course big money.

Sources in the hospital, who did not want to be named, confirmed that there was at least one group operating in the hospital that tends “to bully those not belonging to their group or in some manner presented a competition to the virtual monopoly of this cardiac surgeon and his team.”

Reports to the effect that this professional rivalry is also now showing on patient care have also trickled in. While one senior doctor in the hospital on condition of anonymity stated that individual egos of doctors have become more important than the life of a human being in the hospital, another doctor pointed out that there was a virtual race to ‘secure’ patients in which surgeons are taking on assignments they cannot fulfil simply to run down the other doctor. “Here is one doctor deciding to undertake five complicated surgeries in one day. Do you think he will be able to do justice with even one of them? So if once in a while a patient dies, it is considered to be a number game,” he said.

But the ugliest aspect of the ego battle or professional rivalry between the two groups is the constant undercurrent of bickering and mudslinging that is on in the hospital. While a member of one group, when contacted, clearly stated that the other doctor was not competent enough to handle complicated surgeries, the doctor belonging to the other group stated that “a comparison of the number of deaths that have taken place under the supervision of each of the doctors should clarify the real position”.

Employees of the hospital have also pointed out that the situation has reached a state that doctors are allegedly inciting attendants of patients who have died, to allege negligence and inform the Press. Some even hinted that the anonymous threat letter that was received by Dr G.S. Kalra a fortnight back and threatening SMS messages received by Dr S.S. Samra last week could also have been a result of this competition. But on the surface everything seems to be totally fine. And that is also what the administration has to say too. “There is no groupism, and there are no problems among the two cardiac surgeons we have employed. Both Dr S.S. Samra and Dr Achintya Moulick are highly competent doctors among the best in the country and are in fact together from their college days. And there is absolutely no professional rivalry between them,” said Dr R.V. Karanjekar, Medical Director of the hospital.

SPORTS

KB DAV school to host roller hockey camp
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, January 28
KB DAV Centenary School, Sector 7, has been chosen as the venue for the first phase of the national roller hockey camp for women which will begin from February 1. Giving this information, Ms Madhu Bahl, Principal of the school and camp in charge, said the camp was being organised by the Roller Skating Federation of India.

Ms Bahl said the above camp was being held to prepare for the forthcoming Asian Skating meet to be held in Japan later this year. The national camp for men will be held at Jammu.

She said the school’s rink was equipped with floodlights and music on the international pattern to keep the skaters’ interest high.

CHESS TOURNEY: Preeti was on the top in the under-16 girls section at the end of the fifth round by gaining 5 points in the girls section while Yuzvendra and Neeraj Khera got 5 points each in the boys section of the WIPRO Young Super Genius Chess Tournament being organised by Chandigarh Chess Association at Jawahar Navodya Vidyalaya, Sector 25.

The point position at the end of the fifth round was: Yuzvendra and Neeraj Khera — 5 points; Arun Dalal, Karan Kapoor, Jaskiranjeet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Mohit Arora and Sahil Bhatia and Ravi Gupta — 4 points; Puneet Khera and Himal Gusain — 3.5 points; and Aman Kumar, Nitin Khera, Kinner Luthra, Jaideep Singh, Gagandeep S. Walia, Arshdeep Singh, Udit Jain, Sumit Jha, Mahipal Singh, Lalit, Madhur, Sulaksh Sharma, Vishal Singh and Tanmey Bajaj — 3 points.

Girls: Preeti — 5 points; Shweta, Jaya Bhatia, Rishu Rathi, and Rashpal Kaur — 4 points; Tashmeen Kaur and Indu Bisht — 3.5 points; Malika Goyal, Rachna Bhardwaj, Ira, Simarjeet Kaur, Mamta Rana, Geetanjali, Rashmi, Jyoti Narval, Simranjeet and Preeti Sharma — 3 points.