Pune: The
Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has continued to depend on contractual
employees and manual billing systems at its civic hospitals, even as at
least four major instances of financial irregularities have been reported in hospital billing sections over the past three years.
Reports indicate that several
financial discrepancies have surfaced at billing counters in recent years. Despite
repeated assurances from the civic body about introducing digital systems, the
transition has moved slowly.Also Read:Four Pimpri-Chinchwad Hospital staff accused of siphoning Rs 9.25 lakhThe continued use of
offline billing methods has reportedly created loopholes that some staff
members have allegedly used to alter records and divert public money. The delay
in digitising operations has therefore drawn attention to vulnerabilities in
the current system at municipal healthcare facilities. Officials suggested that
relying on an online billing system and regular monitoring might be a solution to
the problem, reports The Times of India.
Medical
Dialogues had earlier reported that four staff members at a Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal
Corporation-run hospital were accused of manipulating billing records and
siphoning off lakhs of rupees. Preliminary findings indicate that one permanent
employee and three contractual staff were involved, siphoning off around Rs
9.25 lakh over a period of time. Among the four staff, there were three
contractual employees and one permanent billing clerk at Prabhakar Malharrao
Kute Hospital in Akurdi. Following the discovery, PCMC authorities
conducted inspections at other civic hospitals and found a similar pattern of
suspected financial misconduct at a hospital in Bhosari, where two employees
were allegedly involved in misappropriating nearly Rs 10 lakh.
Investigators found that
staff manipulated billing records by collecting the full payment from patients
but reporting a lower amount in official documents. For instance, while a
patient might be charged Rs. 100, the copy submitted to the civic authorities
would show only Rs. 25, allowing the staff to keep the remaining Rs. 75, reports   The Daily.
Dr Laxman Gophane, chief
medical health officer of PCMC, pointed out that an investigation is underway.
“We have written to the police seeking an FIR against four individuals in
one case. A second FIR against two more individuals in a separate incident will
be proposed soon,” he said. Dr Gophane also added that senior officials are
also being investigated to check accountability. However, an official FIR is
yet to be registered in either matter.Also Read:Woman Duped of Rs 23 Lakh in Fake Hospital Pharmacy Deal, Three BookedMany officials pointed
out that this has been a recurring problem. In December 2024, staff at Jijamata
Hospital were found to be involved in a fraud where a significant portion of
patient payments was not deposited in official accounts. Similarly, in November
2023, a contractual employee at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital used
fabricated receipts to misappropriate funds by underreporting collections. A
senior health department official attributed the continued dependence on
third-party staff to a shortage of permanent personnel. “Clerical
work requires a large volume of staff to work round-the-clock, and PCMC
currently lacks that internal strength,” he explained.Â
Officials said that
introducing a fully digital billing system with real-time monitoring is the
only sustainable solution. At present, most of the nine hospitals run by the
Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation still rely on offline systems, though
the city’s largest facility, Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital, has shifted
almost all its billing counters to an online system in the past three months.
“We are in the process of
making online billing mandatory across all hospitals within the next 45 days,”
Dr Gophane told The Daily. Sayali Kiran Nadhe, president of the Congress city unit’s
women’s wings, also pointed out that handwritten bills become a medium of fraud.
“Shifting to a fully online system would significantly reduce the scope for
manipulation,” Nadhe said. She further demanded that to uphold an unbiased
investigation, these cases should be dealt with by the police rather than the internal
administration. “In previous instances, the civic body allowed those involved
to continue working after they returned the misappropriated amount. This cycle
must stop. Those involved must be suspended and face strict legal action to
deter others,” she added.