Wardens make a fast buck in government hospitals
Government hospital wardens or nurses fleece relatives of patients who are admitted under their care for services that should ordinarily be offered to patients free of cost. Multiple reports on our site also talk about the bribes that are demanded from visitors who wish to meet their relatives or friends who’ve been admitted in the hospital.
According to a report I Paid a Bribe received from Hyderabad, a person reportedly bribed the warden boy to be allowed to visit his ailing father. Soon after which, the warden suddenly turned cordial towards the visiting son while the others who couldn’t afford to pay a bribe had no choice but to wait to be allowed to meet their loved ones.http://www.ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/bribe-towards-warden-boy-hospital
A respondent from Chennai reported instances of hospital wardens demanding bribes ranging from Rs100 to 500 to shift his nephew from one ward to another, to dress his wounds and even perform scans and other tests on him.http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/bribe-govt-hospitals-lower-level
Another respondent from Hyderabad narrates his experience at the hospital where he had to bribe his way into entering the ward where his friend was admitted. He also spoke about how money is collected illegally to procure medical reports. He ended up paying Rs.1200 by the time his friend was discharged from the hospital. http://ipaidabribe.com/bribe-central/seeing-patient
They even fleece relatives of dead people when they have to move their bodies from the hospital. Amudha Rajkumar, a housemaid from Bangalore who lost her husband in a road accident, has a similar story to tell. “I had to pay a bribe of Rs. 200 to the warden to be allowed to see my husbands’ body in the mortuary. Even for the death certificate, I paid a separate bribe of Rs.500.” she said.
The whole purpose of providing free service to the needy is defeated when bribes exchange hands and eventually, it is the lesser privileged who suffer.
By Juwairia Mehkri