The administration of Bhabha Hospital, Bandra West, has officially written to authorities demanding an investigation into a free nursing course for which the 365 attendees were asked to cough up Rs 450. The Trained Nurses Association (TNA) Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) course recently conducted training sessions that earned them a profit of approximately Rs 1.6 lakhs, right under the nose of Bhabha officials.
The hospital’s management has raised serious questions about the authenticity of the programme, claiming that the Maharashtra Nursing Council (MNC) — the state’s apex regulatory body for nursing education, has yet to acknowledge or respond to their communication regarding the issue.
The letter was shot off to the MNC after mid-day first uncovered the scam and were the first to report it on October 18.
According to hospital sources, the CNE session in question was conducted in the first week of October. However, when as many as 365 certificates were issued at the end of the session that was conducted in a hall with maximum capacity of just 70 members, questions erupted.
“The hospital administration was shocked to learn when we got the document of all certificates. We then discussed internally and decided to raise an official complaint with the Maharashtra Nursing Council (MNC) and thus a detailed email was sent, seeking clarification and urging an inquiry,” said a senior hospital official.
While the mail was sent on October 27, there has not been any response yet from the MNC. “It’s been almost a week that we have sent an email. But, no official from the MNC has even informally called us to discuss the matter yet. This has again raised questions on the conduction of CNE courses,” said the official.
Demands of Bhabha Hospital administration
. Conduct a detailed inquiry into the Train Nurses Association of India, the organisation which conducted the CNE/CPD programme.
. Verify participant attendance and certificate issuance records.
. Audit the fee collection process and take appropriate disciplinary action against those responsible for malpractice as despite agreeing to a few amount of Rs 300, Rs 450 was collected from each nurse.
. Issue clear guidelines to prevent commercial exploitation in the name of CNE/CPD programmes across the state.
