1 week Ago By Steffy Thevar
Pune: Dr Dhananjay Kelkar , the medical director at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital , said the stars were not in favour of Dr Sushrut Ghaisas , the gynecologist who attended to the deceased woman on March 28, after the latter resigned on Monday. Dr Kelkar said seeking advance deposit from patients was not at all practised at the hospital. "We never write down the estimated advance on the patient's case paper.
The doctor attending to the deceased woman last month did so perhaps because stars were not in his favour at that particular time. He made a box and mentioned a ‘deposit' of Rs 10,00,000. None of the doctors ever write a deposit amount on the case paper.
If any doctor wants to seek any deposit, the billing department, along with the doctor, talks to the patient's relatives as to how much of the estimated cost they can pay." Gynaecologist Dr Ghaisas had attended to the deceased woman, Tanisha alias Ishwari Bhise, on March 28. He tendered his resignation on Monday, after allegedly receiving several threat calls.
Dr Kelkar said, "Dr Ghaisas has been a consultant with our hospital for the past 10 years. He has submitted his resignation because he lost focus on treating his other patients after the way this incident played out. We will soon find an alternative arrangement for the patients being treated under Dr Ghaisas.
" While addressing reporters, he said the odd insensitive behaviour of doctors and staffers could be attributed to the overcrowding at the facility. "We are training the staffers to talk to patients and relatives politely. Be it a govt or a private hospital, overworked employees tend to lose sensitivity.
We will be training our staffers to avoid it." When asked about why the hospital took steps only after pressure from the public, Dr Kelkar said, "The pressure is not on me but on Dr Ghaisas. I can only answer about what I did.
We have not violated the patient's privacy but have only mentioned the timeline of events as it happened. We have not given ourselves any clean chit but only given our explanation on the incident. The committee is working on a fast-track method and so we should not jump to any conclusion.
We always follow all the norms laid by the Charity Commission." Political parties' protest over Bhise's death rocked Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on April 4. The state govt constituted the inquiry committee the same day to probe into her death.
Dr Kelkar said the hospital had not received the govt inquiry report. "Three committees will probe the incident. Once we get those reports, we will be able to comment on who is at fault here.
" The victim, Tanisha alias Ishwari Bhise, had gone to Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on March 28. After the hospital allegedly told her relatives to deposit money for her admission, the pregnant woman was shifted to another healthcare facility. Dr Kelkar said he had received a call from the patient's relative.
He claimed to have told the latter to pay whatever was possible and talk to the hospital administration to admit the patient. He said, "I had received the call around 2pm. Thereafter, I was not aware of what happened and it was not my job to treat that patient.
" He said, "Had the patient's relative approached anyone from the hospital management, this incident would not have occurred. The patient was in the hospital for over five hours. So, the patient's relatives could have easily approached the management.
" Dr Kelkar said, "We used to seek a deposit in advance only in complex cases. We have stopped it now. Whenever a patient comes to our hospital we only issue an estimate to the patient on the hospital form.
" Regarding property tax, he said, "We pay it in the court because we have challenged PMC's decision to charge us at commercial property rate. The matter is subjudice and nothing is pending from our end. We have paid the entire amount for the additional FSI and we have not reaped any benefits under the same.
" With regards to the plot on which the hospital currently stands, Dr Kelkar said the agreement was between the hospital and the govt, and not with the property owner..
