Over 100 indoor patients,who escaped from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research,(PGIMER),Chandigarh,without paying dues this year have vanished by giving fake addresses. Officials at PGIMER said that this year 325 patients fled from the hospital and they were accordingly told to deposit the money and their medical record file. While 200 have turned up so far,over 100 are not traceable as they had given wrong addresses. We have a set procedure for recovering the hospital dues and medical record file if any indoor patients escapes from the Institute. So far we have intimated all the 325 patients who absconded this year to deposit the dues with the Institute,out of which 200 have turned up and deposited the money, PGIMER Spokesperson Manju Wadwalkar said. After verification,we came to know that there are 125 patients who had mentioned wrong addresses. Officials handling such cases said that once a patient goes missing from the ward along with the record and without paying dues,the in-charge of the ward informs the Chief Security Officer of PGIMER who accordingly informs the Central Registration Department about the case. The Central Registration Department later sends a letter to the patients address,asking them to deposit the hospitals outstanding dues and the medical record file in 10 days. A copy of this letter,as per the procedure,is also send to the concerned Senior Superintendent of Police. The SSP later directs the Station House Officer (SHO) to look into these cases. In many instances,the police have informed that the address mentioned does not exist, said an official at PGIMER dealing with such cases. Besides,the post office people also return the letters with a note that the address mentioned is not correct. The indoor patients manage to flee from the hospital despite the fact that round-the-clock security is in place at PGIMER. The security wing in the hospital,comprising of 400 men,is responsible for providing security to the hospital and patients. The authorities claimed that it was difficult to trace who was absconding with such a large number of patients visiting the hospital every day. It is a very small number of patients who escaped from the hospital without paying dues, said an officer associated with security at PGIMER. Now with the installation of CCTVs,in the next few months we will be able to keep a tab on all . Every patient has to deposit Rs 800 at the time of admission to PGIMER and the patient is discharged only after he or she deposits the hospital dues which include bed,diet and surgery fees.
