Nearly one out of every 10 patients who visited Aam Aadmi Clinics (AACs) in Punjab did not receive the medicines prescribed by doctors, according to a recent patient feedback survey conducted by the Punjab government.
The survey, which received responses from 18,256 patients across 442 Aam Aadmi Clinics, came up for discussion at the two-day conference of civil surgeons in Chandigarh that began on Monday.
According to the findings, 11% of patients reported the non-availability of all prescribed medicines at the clinics. Amritsar emerged as the worst-affected district with 15% of patients having not received medication, followed closely by Patiala and Gurdaspur, which both reported shortages for 13% of visitors. The data further revealed that 11% of patients were unable to avail of diagnostic tests at the clinics.
Medicines and diagnostic tests are provided free of cost at all 884 Aam Aadmi Clinics across Punjab. As per standard operating procedures (SOPs), every AAC is required to maintain adequate stock of at least 97 out of 102 essential drugs on any given day. Clinics failing to meet this benchmark are classified as “AACs with inadequate stock”.
Punjab health department officials said all civil surgeons have been directed to personally monitor online data of medicine availability in their respective districts and conduct random feedback checks to ensure compliance with the SOPs.
The survey uncovered anomalies where several individuals, whose details were uploaded by AAC staff, claimed they had never visited the clinics. Documents accessed by Hindustan Times show the flagship healthcare programme is facing allegations of data manipulation. Around 8% of respondents said neither they nor their family members had visited an AAC, raising concerns over “fake entries” made to inflate patient numbers.
Contractual doctors at AACs are entitled to an additional incentive of ₹50 per patient, over and above their fixed monthly salary of ₹62,500. Insiders believe this incentive structure has led to inflated records.
Moga and Fazilka districts recorded the highest discrepancies, with 11% of surveyed individuals stating they had never visited the clinics despite their data being uploaded.
A senior official of the Punjab health department, requesting anonymity, said strict action would be taken against erring staff. “Fresh instructions have been issued to all civil surgeons to take stringent action. Any doctor found making fake patient entries will be removed from service,” the official said.
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