Thursday 14 June 2012

16 medical officials investigated for graft

Hospital chiefs and department heads at centre of corruption inquiry in Shenzhen

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16 medical officials investigated for graft

Hospital chiefs and department heads at centre of corruption inquiry in Shenzhen

Alice Yan
10 June 2012

Sixteen high-ranking officials and executives at 13 hospitals in Shenzhen are being probed for corruption, prosecutors say.

It comes amid a three-month crackdown on graft in the health care sector, particularly involving the purchase of drugs, medical equipment and consumable items.

The suspects are nine hospital chiefs and seven heads of departments. The anti-corruption chief at Shenzhen’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital said even he was not notified when prosecutors detained their radiation director on Tuesday, the New Express reported.

At a series of meetings that started on Thursday, officials from the Health, Population and Family Planning Commission of Shenzhen told hospital staff that June had been designated the “self-examination period” of the anti-graft campaign, which includes an amnesty period for staff to hand over ill-gotten gains.

Medical staffs were told to submit bribes - be they from pharmaceutical or medical equipment dealers, “red envelopes” of cash from patients or their relatives to ensure that the doctors do their best in their work, and other commissions employees had collected by exploiting their posts.

All the money is to be deposited in a special “clean account”.

As the campaign is regarded as being “self-correcting”, health workers who comply won’t be investigated, the Nanfang Daily reported yesterday.

Hospitals have also been told to take the initiative to root out corruption and to prevent staff from supplying unused and leftover drugs to unlicensed pharmaceutical makers or resellers.

Due to collusion between hospital staff and medical suppliers, medical-related costs on the mainland have become exorbitant. That has led to a surge in public complaints and animosity towards health care workers.

During the three-month campaign, Shenzhen’s health authority would “enhance moral education, promote self-examination and improve regulations at hospitals to curb commercial bribery”, according to Xinhua.

The campaign is part of Guangdong province’s “Three Busts and Two Builds” movement, which is targeting illegal market activities, including the criminal intimidation of rivals, the production and sale of counterfeit goods, and commercial bribery.

The authorities are also seeking to establish a credit ratings system for consumers and to improve market supervision.