MUMBAI, Dec. 16 -- Peripheral civic hospitals in Mumbai are routinely referring patients to other facilities - and it's not because they are short staffed. Sources in some peripheral hospitals say senior resident doctors have been punching in and punching out, without attending to patients, resulting in routine as well as serious cases being routed to other hospitals. For instance, cataract patients at the BMC's Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali have been re-routed for months, and a gallbladder patient was recently referred elsewhere without surgical assessment. At the MW Desai Hospital in Malad, patients with chest pain are being advised to approach more advanced medical facilities, without so much as a basic ECG being performed. A staff member at the hospital said, "This is surprising because the hospital has a 10-bed ICU, where these cases can be treated. Advanced tests are typically recommended only after an ECG is performed." Sources at Shatabdi Hospital said cataract patients were being directed to Krantijyoti Mahatma Phule Hospital, Borivali, instead of being operated upon at Shatabdi, despite available ophthalmology resident doctors. At the same hospital, a patient with gallbladder stones was turned away, without being examined by a general surgeon. A source from the hospital said, "The patient could have been admitted and operated upon the next day. There were sufficient doctors, yet no surgical assessment took place." Employees across BMC-run peripheral hospitals told HT that referrals are widespread across most of these institutions, including large facilities such as Shatabdi Hospital, Bhabha Hospital in Bandra west, and Bhabha Hospital in Kurla. What makes the absence of doctors on call even more astonishing is that these hospitals run the DNB programme - a post-graduate degree recognised as the equivalent of an MS/MD degree - and there are sufficient resident doctors available. However, several staffers alleged that these doctors barely put in an appearance at the hospitals to which they are attached, and they are definitely not available round the clock, despite policy requirements. "Doctors conduct rounds for an hour or two and leave for their private clinics nearby," alleged an employee at a peripheral hospital. "These doctors, who are also medical students (as these hospitals have medical colleges attached) handle OPDs and perform minor procedures. But, after evening hours, there are effectively no doctors on duty in these hospitals are they are not on 24/7 duty. Even when present, there is no one to supervise them, which is why absenteeism among them is so high," said the employee. "As a result, most patients are seen by casualty medical officers. Since there are no senior doctors on duty, patients are referred elsewhere, since CMOs do not have the expertise." According to sources, peripheral hospitals such as MW Desai, SK Patil, Savitribai Phule and MAA Hospital routinely refer cases that can be managed in-house. HT attempted to reach out to chief medical superintendent, Chandrakant Pawar, and Dr Arvind Ugale, superintendent, MW Desai Hospital, but they did not respond to phone calls or text messages....