Patients being charged upto Rs 50K for a bed in Central govt hospitals: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed that if beds are not available at the central government hospitals then patients in waiting are asked to pay anything between Rs 25000 to Rs 50000 to brokers to get their bed booked.

"What is happening in the central government-run AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi is very surprising...There is a nexus between the hospital management and the brokers. Patients who are refused beds due to unavailability are asked to pay Rs 25000-50000 to get a bed registered for themselves," Aam Aadmi Party Delhi Chief Whip Dilip K Pandey alleged in a press conference on Thursday.

Pandey said that it is a criminal act to allow brokerage to persist and at the same time deny beds at central government hospitals. These hospitals are run entirely by the central government as it is directly under the purview of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and the law and order of Delhi comes under Union Home Minister.

"They are not able to give beds but they are allowing brokerage to persist under people's noses. Amit Shah is responsible for maintaining law and order in Delhi. Health Ministry is under Manadaviya. And since it is the national capital, I believe the Prime Minister also knows about this," the AAP Chief Whip said.

Questioning the silence of the Bharatiya Janata Party on this issue, Pandey said, "Why are you silent on corruption in central government hospitals? I would like to ask the Union Health Minister, Union Home Minister and the Prime Minister if this does not break your heart."

Asking the central government about the steps being taken by them against such brokers, Pandey said, "I am asking on behalf of those patients who keep going to central government hospitals, what actions are you taking against these brokers? Is your silence not letting this corruption thrive? What are you doing to investigate this?"

Taking a dig at the BJP, the AAP leader said that instead of wasting their energy on harassing the AAP government in Delhi they should have focussed on its hospitals in Delhi.

"The central government has utilised all its energy and constitutional agencies against the Delhi government. Had the same amount of resources, agencies and energy that are been spent in stopping the works of the Delhi government, been diverted to improve the system under the central government's control, this situation would not have happened," Pandey said.

Pandey also cited a media report of a 14-year-old girl who kept making rounds from one hospital to another after she was allegedly denied admission at Safdarjung and AIIMS, Delhi. The girl was earlier being treated at a Delhi government hospital.

"Does your heart ache after reading this news or not? Why are you silent?" he asked the central government.