A first information report has been filed against Shiv Sena MP Hemant Patil a day after he had made the acting dean of a government hospital in Nanded, to clean a washroom.
Patil has been booked under several sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act.
The Shiv Sena MP forced the acting dean of Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital, where 31 patients died in 48 hours, to clean a dirty toilet and urinals. A video of the incident went viral on social media.
The video showed Patil handing a broom to Dr Shayam Wakode and asking him to clean the washroom. “You don’t have simple mugs and you shout at people who don’t use toilets. Do you behave similarly at your home?” Patil can be heard saying in the viral video.
Later, Patil, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde-faction of the Shiv Sena, told reporters that he was pained to see the situation in the government, according to PTI.
“The government spends crores but I am pained to see the situation here,” he said. The toilets have not been cleaned for months. The toilets in the wards of the hospital are locked. No water is available in toilets.”
Patil’s actions were criticised by the Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors, which also demanded an unconditional apology from the MP.
In a statement, the body said that the dean was forced to clean toilets in broad daylight and that it was ensured that this was done in the presence of the media to make a spectacle for political mileage.
“…After witnessing the event, the doctors and the subordinated of the college administration’s top brass are left with hopelessness and despair that despite their best efforts in managing patients with a serious lack of resources, they are being made the scapegoat of the failure of the administration in providing quality health care.”
The doctor’s body further highlighted that the recent deaths at the government hospital were due to a shortage of medical faculty, medical staff and life-saving medicines and resources.
