Audit Reports
Railways
Report No. 28 of 2014 - Performance Audit on Hospital Management in Indian Railways Union Government,Railways
Overview
Indian Railways provide medical and health services to 64 lakh railway beneficiaries through 129 hospitals and 588 Health Units spreading over 17 Zonal Railways (ZRs) and five production units. Director General /Railway Health Service is the head of Railway health care services which includes maintenance of sanitation, cleanliness and provision of safe drinking water besides providing prompt relief to passengers injured or taken seriously ill in trains or at railway stations.
This report focuses on the performance of hospitals in budgetary control, effective utilization of available manpower and assessing the efficiency in hospital administration. A sample of 17 Central Hospitals, one Super Specialty Hospital, five Production Unit Hospitals, 41 Divisional/Sub-divisional Hospitals and five workshop hospitals were selected for review. In addition, 89 Primary Health Units /Dispensaries were also selected for detailed examination.
Audit observed that there was lack of effective budgetary control. Besides variation between the final grant and the actual expenditure, there was idle investment due to improper planning. Shortage of doctors and paramedical staff had partially affected the medical and health services to patients. Medical equipment remained idle due to non-availability of skilled professionals resulting in avoidable reference to non-railway hospitals.