Lentin report on JJ deaths lies in cold storage

The commission had suggested that there should be two Deans – Administration and Medical. The former must not be a medical person, but must be a person of assertive and of proven administrative ability preferably drawn from the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Police Service. Also, the Deans must not hold more than one charge to be able to concentrate on their functions in the J J Hospital itself. However, the state government has cold shouldered both the recommendations. Since 1987, J S Saharia was the only IAS Dean during January-November 1988, while for a long period, the post remained vacant or the occupant was of the rank of a deputy collector or a tehsildar.

Besides, in blatant violation of the recommendations, the current dean – Dayanand Dongaonkar is holding dual charge. He is dean as well as Professor and Head of the Department of Orthopaedics since October 1, 1995. “At least two days a week, he is not available for Deans’ job as on those days he is in the orthopaedic OPD or operation theatre. At the same time, for four days in a week, he is not available to the patients, since he is busy as a Dean,” a senior professor of the Grant Medical College said.

Secondly, the then health minister Bhai Sawant, former health minister Baliram Hiray, officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) R D Kulkarni, V C Sane, S D Bhirud, V D Deshmukh and N D Kulkarni were liable to be proceeded against for charges of corruption after appropriate inquiries were made by the ACB or any other competent investigating authority on its behalf.

As per official records, though the FDA officials were suspended for some period, most of them were reinstated with back wages after they were acquitted on the basis of departmental inquiry. Shaligram had failed to withdraw the contaminated drug though it was brought to his notice. The commission held him `grossly negligent’ in not providing proper circulars to the department. However, the departmental inquiry found no substance in the charges levelled against him. In most of the cases, the departmental inquiry officer had given almost similar findings. “Such findings by the departmental inquiries make mockery of the commission’s recommendations,” remarked a senior official of the law and judiciary department.

The Lentin Commission made important observations on shortage of staff, non-congenial working conditions, lack of storage facilities, of laboratories for testing suspect drugs, of refrigeration in the floor pharmacies, difficulty in inter-departmental communication in such a vast complex and the…………….Dean’s responsibilities. Though the situation at the J J Hospital has improved following the steps taken by the government, the commission’s observations have not been implemented in letter and spirit.Even today, most of the life saving equipment are either in short supply or not fully functional. For the 1,000 plus beds hospital, only one or two respirators are in order, while the blood gas analyser is almost non-functional. In the case of teaching staff, of the 32 departments, 10 are without a head while 69 of 156 posts of associate professors are lying vacant for over three years. In the case of lecturers, 60 out of 163 sanctioned posts are lying vacant. The department of pharmacology, which came in for severe criticism by the commission, is without a head since 1994. On the other hand, the Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, on whom the Lentin Commission showered praise, continues to stagnate in the same post even after a decade.