Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served a show-cause notice to Dr. Jairaj Acharya, medical superintendent of V N Desai Hospital, Santacruz, over multiple allegations of administrative lapses and medical negligence. The notice cites issues including the failure to detect a fake doctor in the ICU, poor infrastructure, irregular functioning of critical departments, and alleged professional misconduct.
The civic body has proposed transferring Dr. Acharya to Bhagwati Hospital, Borivali, and appointing a senior doctor from an eastern suburb hospital to head V N Desai Hospital. The action comes after complaints by health activists to the State Human Rights Commission and civic administration, highlighting non-functional facilities, irregular ENT, ophthalmology, and paediatric services, and frequent disruptions in essential medicines, X-ray, CT scan, and operation theatre services.
Key Allegations:
- Ignoring warnings about unsafe hospital conditions.
- Failing to maintain staff discipline and essential services.
- Allowing shortages of essential tests and HIV kits.
- Complicity in an ICU scam involving a fake doctor, Dr. Sawant Bharat Chandrakant, who worked in the ICU for nearly two years with forged documents through a manpower agency.
- Halting critical services such as USG and the blood bank without providing alternatives.
Activists highlighted that these lapses delayed critical testing and forced patients to seek private treatment, increasing financial burdens and compromising patient safety.
Past Controversies:
- The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) had issued a notice to Dr. Acharya following the death of a woman four days after childbirth, which led to a protest by her family.
- A contractual ICU doctor was later exposed as unregistered and operating with forged documents since late 2022, raising questions about hospital oversight and recruitment processes.
The BMC’s action underscores growing scrutiny over hospital management and patient safety in municipal hospitals, with authorities aiming to strengthen supervision and accountability in critical health facilities.
