The Orissa High Court has appointed committees under every District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to carry out surprise inspections during duty hours in government hospitals. 

It was submitted before the court that the doctors associated with government health centers, including district health centers (DHH), community health centers (CHC) and primary health centers (PHCs), were involved in private practice and were not attending to their duties at the government centers.

The DLSA committees would record the attendance of all the medical staff assigned to that facility, the sanitary conditions, toilet facility, electricity supply and overall infrastructure, and check the adequacy of stocks of drugs, medicines, equipment and ambulances. They would also check the connectivity by road and availability of public transport to reach the facility.

A Division Bench headed by Orissa HC Chief Justice ordered the secretary of every DLSA to form a four-member team comprising of two lawyers of the panel of DLSA, one of them preferably a female lawyer, and two para-legal volunteers (PLVs), to carry out a surprise visit to one DHH, one CHC and two PHCs in the district at different hours next week.

The HC directed the district administration and police to cooperate with the team in carrying out their task without hindrance.

Source: The Hindu