Lokayukta’s surprise inspection of K.C. General Hospital reveals bribery, maladministration

K.C. General Hospital, Bengaluru.
| Photo Credit: file photo

Karnataka Lokayukta B.S. Patil conducted a surprise inspection of K.C. General Hospital in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, on Friday (November 29). It revealed many instances of corruption and maladministration at this prominent government healthcare facility.

“We will register a case under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1985 and probe all irregularities at the hospital and fix accountability,” Mr. Patil told The Hindu. 

Demand for bribe

Manjula, the caretaker of a patient, told the Lokayukta that a week ago, nurses demanded a bribe before admitting her sister-in-law, who arrived in labour late at night. Other patients echoed similar concerns, alleging that doctors were prescribing medicines to be purchased from outside the hospital, even when they were available in the hospital’s pharmacy.

Mr. Patil found that patients were being compelled to buy medicines from outside despite their availability at the hospital. The pharmacy’s stock register and its actual inventory didn’t match. “The pharmacy operated only between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., forcing patients’ families to seek medicines elsewhere during emergencies,” Mr. Patil said.

Doctors absent

During his 10 a.m. visit, Justice Patil saw that only one of the five duty doctors was conducting rounds. The medical superintendent failed to provide a satisfactory explanation. The hospital had very few inpatients, with the superintendent attributing this to staff shortage.

Equipment malfunctioning

Mr. Patil also found several pieces of machinery, including an ECG machine, a Doppler machine, and one ventilator in the Neonatal ICU malfunctioning. Emergency medicines were not in stock.

Two wards have developed cracks in the walls and ceiling, and the entire hospital, with a capacity of 1,750 patients, has only one toilet, which is ill-maintained. Several doctors have been posted at the same hospital for several years and one of them joined service at the hospital and will be retiring soon.