Patiala, July 23 -- Following allegations that doctors at Rupnagar civil hospital are prescribing medicines not available at the health facility, Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to the civil surgeon and senior medical officer. The notice was issued after a surprise check by the minister. "During my inspection of the Rupnagar civil hospital, I found that the patients are not getting all the medicines from the hospital. I have taken a serious note of it and issued a show-cause notice to the civil surgeon and SMO," Dr Singh said. The minister added that, as per the Punjab government policy, free medicines are provided to each patient. "We have already procured around 400 types of medicines in our warehouse. If there is any additional medicine which is not available in the stock, the hospital staff will purchase the medicine at the local level and give it to the patient for free," he said. The minister hinted at a nexus between doctors and private chemist shops near the hospitals. "Despite the availability of essential medicines at the hospital, doctors are prescribing medicines that are only available at private chemist shops. This clearly indicates collusion between government doctors and the owners of these shops. I fail to understand why doctors are not giving medicines to poor patients. The government has already procured the required medicines, but they are not being disbursed. We are taking strict action against the administration. If necessary, we will suspend those responsible," he said....