Lapses in death certificates: Bihar govt probe holds AIIMS superintendent, medical record staff guilty of lapses; seeks action
PATNA: The Bihar government has recommended disciplinary action against guilty employees of PatnaтАЩs All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for lapses in issuing two death certificates of a Covid-19 patient with different names of spouse on each certificate, said officials familiar with the development.
An inquiry, after an expose by the Hindustan Times (тАЬAIIMS-Patna|Two death certificates for one man: Families fight over Covid ex gratia after wifeтАЩs name revised), in its Patna edition on February 10, had held the medical superintendent and a junior medical record officer guilty in the case.
On the basis of the inquiry report, Arunish Chawla, BiharтАЩs additional chief secretary, planning and development, advised the executive director of AIIMS to take corrective actions, including disciplinary action against the guilty, in his letter dated March 7.
тАЬWe have inquired into the matter and sent the detailed report to the executive director of AIIMS, Patna, with a request to take corrective actions, including disciplinary action against the guilty employees,тАЭ Chawla told HT on Wednesday evening.
Chawla also attached a copy of the inquiry report by Ravi Shankar, chief registrar of birth and death, implicating the two officials of AIIMS. The probe was conducted on February 17.
The probe indicted AIIMS medical superintendent Dr. CM Singh on three counts. First, for abdicating his responsibilities by not showing interest and entrusting an important work like the registration of birth and death to a medical record technician. Secondly, for not following provisions of the Birth and Death Registration Act, 1969, that тАЬreflects of negligence towards workтАЭ, said Shankar in his probe report.
The probe also held Singh responsible for misuse of his login ID on the civil registration system (CRS), where the medical superintendent-cum-registrar (birth and death) is allotted a user ID, with a one-time password (OTP)-based access through registered mobile number, the report said.
Shaban Ali, the then medical record technician, was held guilty for тАЬupdatingтАЭ the name of the spouse on the death certificate, without taking either a formal request from any family member of the deceased or obtaining approval of the medical superintendent-cum-registrar (birth and death), who had to make suitable entry in the margin in the register of births and deaths, and sign the entry and mention the date of correction or cancellation, as per the Act.
. Ali had signed the first death certificate on November 5, 2020, having the superintendentтАЩs scanned signature, that mentioned Prachi Priya as the spouse of Rajeev Kumar Nirala, who died at the AIIMS on October 22, 2020. The modified death certificate of November 11, 2020, mentioning Puja Kumari as the wife, however, did not bear AliтАЩs signature and had only the scanned signature of the medical superintendent.
Nirala had allegedly married two women. On the basis of her name on the modified death certificate, Kumari had claimed and received the state government ex gratia of тВ╣4 lakh to the next of kin of the Covid-19 deceased.
The AIIMS has since cancelled the earlier death certificate and generated one without mentioning the name of the spouse. It had also issued warning letters to two junior employees, including Ali.
