Bengaluru: The govt faced sharp criticism from both opposition and its own legislators in the legislative assembly Tuesday over the health department’s transfer policy and alleged shortage of doctors and medicines in govt hospitals. BJP eventually staged a walkout. Health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao came under severe flak with members questioning ground realities of services in rural areas and flagging gaps in community health centres (CHCs). Defending the policy of counselling-based transfers, Gundu Rao said the move was aimed at ensuring transparency and reforms, while insisting there was no shortage of medicines in govt hospitals. Initiating a debate on the functioning of the department, opposition leader R Ashoka alleged internal discord among senior officials and cited correspondence between top bureaucrats to question governance. “The health department is unhealthy,” Ashoka said. “The principal secretary has not come to office for the past eight months. He has chosen to work from home. The secretary has filed a complaint against the principal secretary. The department is infested with indiscipline and misconduct. The minister has no control over his department.” Ashoka’s colleague, CN Ashwath Narayan, alleged there are 4,922 vacancies against 7,173 sanctioned posts. “The govt’s transfer policy has resulted in CHCs being virtually defunct as doctors including gynaecologists and anaestheticians have been transferred to hospitals much against their consent. Patients are in distress because of a shortage of essential drugs,” he said. Gundu Rao flatly rejected the allegations, but senior Congress member BR Patil contradicted the minister, saying there were no doctors in the CHC in his Aland constituency and that officials may have misinformed the minister. Congress’s Mahantesh Koujalagi echoed the concern and suggested Gundu Rao was too focused on urban areas as he represents a Bengaluru constituency. In reply, Gundu Rao insisted the policies were meant to make improvements and were based on experience. “Transfers were made via counselling last year, and the process will begin from April this year,” he said. “We have rectified errors. As for medicines, the govt released Rs 860 crore to procure them. Some 534 medicines were procured by Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation Ltd and 356 locally by hospitals. The tender process is on to procure another 216 medicines.” Ashoka dismissed the reply as “bogus” and insisted he had letters from doctors highlighting shortages of medicines. He then announced a walkout.
