Karnataka Lokayukta serves notice to health department officials over lapses at K C General Hospital

Bengaluru: The Lokayukta has served a notice to the Principal Secretary and the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Department, directing them to show up in person with regards to lapses in management at K C General Hospital found during an inspection last year.

Following complaints, the Lokayukta, Upalokayukta, judicial officers and the police undertook an inspection of the KC General Hospital on November 29, 2024 and found several gaps in service, including the lack of essential life-saving medicines, expired medication being stored at the hospital, and delayed attendance or absence of doctors and medical staff.

The team also found that some doctors were issuing prescriptions to patients directing them to purchase medicines outside despite those medicines being available in the hospital, while some doctors were also demanding money from patients for treatment.

Besides medical management, the inspection also revealed unclean toilets, unclean wards and hospital premises, and inadequate toilets in the mother and child and general wards.

After the inspection, a detailed note was issued to the health department inviting objections or any response to the report. Despite many notices and reminders, no responses came, which the Lokayukta has taken very seriously.

A note issued on Tuesday has directed the principal secretary and the commissioner to present themselves before the Lokayukta on June 23 at 12.30 pm and offer an explanation for the lack of action taken. If they do not respond to the summons, then a warrant would be issued, as directed by the Lokayukta.