By Express News Service

CUTTACK: There seems to be no respite from the growing menace of brokers here who still continue to divert patients from SCB Medical College and Hospital to different private hospitals. Shockingly, these brokers are no outsiders but attendants engaged by the hospital authorities from an outsourcing agency. On Monday, five attendants of SCB MCH were arrested by Mangalabag police while trying to divert patients from the premier government-run hospital. 

The five accused are Bijay Das (50) of Nahalpur, Dipti Ranjan Nayak (35) of Nuabazar, Laxmidhar Naik (42) of Hatoda, Sachidanand Sahoo (48) of Masinghpatna and Ramani Ranjan Mohapatra (41) of Anandapur.Reportedly, all the five attendants were engaged by an outsourcing agency called Manju Services to assist patients at the Radiology Department of SCB MCH.

“Acting on a tip off that outsourcing staffs are taking money from patients who are coming from remote areas and diverting them to different hospital and clinics for testing and treatment and collecting huge money from them by cheating in the name of good service. SI Debabrata Mohanty, acting as a patient went to consult a doctor at the medicine ward complaining of abdomen pain and was referred to the Radiology Department for ultrasound. But the doctors there gave him a later date for the ultrasound,” DCP Pinak Mishra said. 

After some time, the five accused came up to SI Mohanty and identified themselves as staff of SCB MCH, while demanding Rs 200 for early conduct of the ultrasound, if not possible they will perform the test at a private centre at low cost. They were immediately arrested and were forwarded to the court on Tuesday, the DCP informed. 

More than 15 staff of the hospital engaged through the outsourcing agency have been arrested so far for diverting patients in the last one year. Even a security guard was also arrested for stealing a motorcycle from the hospital campus. Despite several attempts, the SCB MCH Superintendent Lucy Das could not be reached for a comment.