Health Minister Banna Gupta on Wednesday asked hospital authorities, doctors and medicine retailers to inform him over WhatsApp if any official demands bribe or other favours from them. Interacting with various stakeholders of the State’s health machinery at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Auditorium on Wednesday, Gupta said that hospitals and medicine retailers should not be scared of officials.
“If any official demands bribe, you directly inform me over WhatsApp. Necessary actions will be taken against the concerned official,” said Gupta, adding that officials will have to be honest if the Minister is honest. Gupta also shared his contact number with the people present at the event and assured that he will follow up all the complaints made to him over WhatsApp.
Most of the Ministers in the current Cabinet have been active on social media and are using various social media platforms to address problems of commoners. Chief Minister Hemant Soren has been actively addressing issues on microblogging website Twitter and involving officials too in the process. Now, Gupta’s WhatsApp assurance comes as an addition to the Government’s social media friendly approach.
The newly appointed Health Minister has had a strict approach towards officials since he took charge. On Wednesday, he attended the interactive session with hospital authorities, doctors and medicine retailers at RIMS Auditorium, and asked the officials to leave in order to have transparent conversations with other stakeholders.
The doctors present at the session highlighted the need of Medical Protection Act (MPA) in Jharkhand, while hospital authorities complained about high cost of medical waste disposal. Implementation of MPA has been a long pending demand of the Jharkhand chapter of the IMA. The Act has already been implemented in 18 states in India and IMA wants Jharkhand to be the 19th state to implement the MPA. The Cabinet had approved the MPA in Jharkhand in 2017. Later, a select committee too gave a report on it. But it is yet to be passed by the assembly. The Act mandates imprisonment of up to three years and a fine ofRs.50,000 for attacks on doctors, nurses and hospital establishments.
The Association of Healthcare Providers (India) also handed over a memorandum to the Minister stating their demands. The association of doctors sought single window system for all issues of hospitals and nursing homes. The members of the association also demanded smoother functioning of the Ayushman Bharat scheme and easy exit from the scheme.
Talking about the initiative of organising such interactive sessions for health department, Gupta said that collaboration between the Minister and other stakeholders was crucial for better functioning of the department. “It is very important to spread awareness among people of the State and the various stakeholders. This platform is to bridge the gap between the Ministry, doctors and other parties involved in running the health machinery,” Gupta said.