A complaint regarding the matter was filed to SHRC by a patient stating that at the Shatabdi Hospital run by the municipal corporation, sanitation workers were carrying out ECG on patients before surgery. (File photo)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was fined on Monday by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) after it was found that at the civic-run Shatabdi Hospital, ECG was carried out on patients by “ward boys”.
Observing that the commission “never dreamt of such a situation prevailing in the hospital run by one of the richest municipal corporations in the country”, SHRC chairperson Justice AM Badar directed the BMC to pay Rs 12 lakh as compensation to Maharashtra State Legal Services Authorities (MSLSA).
The MSLSA provides free legal services to weaker sections of the society.
A complaint regarding the matter was filed to SHRC by a patient stating that at the Shatabdi Hospital run by the municipal corporation, sanitation workers were carrying out ECG on patients before surgery.
A reply by the incharge Chief Medical Officer of the hospital said that ECG of patients on whom surgery is due is done by a trained employee.
On being asked who a trained employee was, SHRC was informed that “the employees who are doing the work of taking ECG of patients for ascertaining fitness for undergoing surgery are the ‘ward boys’ working in the Shatabdi Hospital, who by length of their service in the hospital as ward boys can do this work.”
SHRC was further informed that the post of ECG technician of the hospital has been lying vacant for the last one year and therefore, this work is being done by the “ward boys” working in the Hospital.
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The hospital further informed that a proposal for filling up the vacant posts in Subordinate Medical Services was being prepared.
“This implies that an ECG technician is not at all on the rolls of the hospital,” SHRC observed.
“This reminds me of the situation in some parts of the country where medical treatment is given by quacks called ‘zola chaap doctor’ but this Commission never even dreamt of such a situation prevailing in the hospital run by one of the richest municipal corporations in the country,” the order read.
SHRC further observed that just because ward boys were working for a while with doctors, it did not make them suitable to conduct ECG.
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“It hardly needs to be put on record that specialised training to the concerned staff is must in the healthcare field as a minor mistake in such a medical investigation can cost a life. Without training there cannot be health service of requisite quality,” the order said.
“Health care facilities in private hospitals are not within reach of even a middle class citizen who hopes and expects that his life is safe, if the treatment is taken at the hospital run by the richest municipal corporation. He expects that he is in safe hands of a well-trained medical staff in such Municipal Hospitals,” the order said
In conclusion, SHRC directed that BMC should immediately provide services of trained ECG technicians at the hospital, pay Rs 12 lakh compensation to the MSLSA within a month of the order, for violating the human rights of the patients at the hospital.
Mohamed Thaver is a highly specialized journalist with the Expertise and Authority required to report on complex law enforcement and legal issues. With a career dedicated to the crime beat for over a decade, his work provides readers with informed and trustworthy insights into Maharashtra's security and justice systems.
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Mohamed Thaver’s long-standing specialization in the crime beat—combined with his focus on technological aspects like cyber crime and his direct coverage of major institutions like the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Maharashtra Home Department—underscores his Trustworthiness and status as an expert source for detailed and reliable journalism on law and order.
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