The situation clearly tells the tale of health sector, especially about medical education when those responsible at the apex level come out in open contradicting each other over the facts on record.
The case relates to Sadar Hospital at Garhwa about which the Health Department and the district Civil Surgeon are on different pages, disagreeing with the facts presented by one and the other.
Garhwa Civil Surgeon Dr T Hembrum insisted that the hospital had 100 beds in its premise for long. “We have 100 beds at Sadar Hospital here and also getting allotment against the same from the State Government,” the Civil Surgeon told The Pioneer.
Whereas, State’s Director, Health Services, Dr Praveen Chandra snubbed Dr Hembrum’s pledge. “Our official records say that there is only 50-bedded Sadar Hospital at Garhwa and in no way it is 100 bedded. Have they shifted in the new buildingIJ” asked the Director expressing his disbelief over the statement of the Civil Surgeon.
Even the office of the Director Health Services provided a whole list of Sadar Hospitals with functional beds across the State which puts the figure at 40 against Garhwa district.
When scratched further, insiders in the Department revealed that the whole game is about extending and continuing the tie-up given to a private dental college operational at Garhwa since 2007.
As per the Minister of Health guidelines meant to basic infrastructural facilities any dental college requires to get itself tied up at least for five years with a Government general hospital having provision of at least 100 beds and located within a radius of 10 kilometres of the proposed dental college. The tie-up is extendable till it has its own 100-bedded hospital on the same premises.
“The Vananchal Dental College and Hospital was established in 2007 and got affiliation from the Nilamber Pitamber University. But since the Sadar Hospital at Garhwa does not meet the desired prerequisite for the tie-up, there has been manipulations done at various levels by the management and health officers,” said a senior official of the Department.
The validation becomes clearer with the claim Vananchal Dental College made on its website which goes even contrary to the Civil Surgeon’s. “Vananchal Dental College & Hospital has been tied-up with 300- bedded District / Sadar Hospital, Garhwa (Jharkhand) to provide necessary training facilities to all the concerned students of the College,” reads the official website of the dental college.
Surprisingly Dr AK Sinha of the Vananchal Dental College claimed that the college had official documents from the Health Department putting it 100 bedded hospital at Garhwa. “It was 100 bedded way back in 2007 when the college got tied up with it,” said he.
It is worthy to mention that it was the college which had appointed, through the NPU, Dr Dibyendu Mazumder its Honorary Visiting Professor despite several questions trailing. later, Mazumder wad elevated to the post of all important President of the Dental Council of India (DCI), the governing and regulating body of the all dental colleges across the country.
“It is quite possible that DCI chief Dibyendu Mazumder would have overlooked the lacuna and manipulations on the part of Vananchal Dental College as quid pro quo since the DCI has its role in granting or stripping the recognition given to it after verifying the desired norms,” said the official.
Notably, appointment of Dr Dibyendu Mazumder as visiting professor has been scrapped by the NPU on September 1 citing irregularities committed along with his election to the DCI from the University. However the decision has been challenged by Dr Mazumder at Jharkhand High Court.