Union alleges fake CNE certificates issued without training at Bhabha Hospital

A serious controversy has erupted in Mumbairsquos healthcare and medical training community following allegations of fraudulent practices in the issuance of Continuing Nursing Education CNE certificates at Bhabha Hospital Bandra The Rashtriya Mulnivasi Bahujan Karmachari Sangh RMBKS a workersrsquo union representing healthcare employees has alleged that CNE certificates were distributed to hundreds of nurses without any actual training sessions being conductedAccording to a letter submitted by RMBKS to Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif organisers of the Continuous Nursing Education Continuous Professional Development CNECPD courses have been charging nurses between Rs 300 and Rs 2000 to attend sessions and receive certificatesldquoAs per the Indian Nursing Councilrsquos rules these sessions must be conducted free of cost for all nurses with credit points awarded based on the duration of each session However the organisers have turned this educational activity into a moneymaking exerciserdquo said Avinash Shende RMBKS chief secretary Maharashtra Chapter ldquoWhen a similar session was held in Nagpur we protested and got the fees waived What was the need to charge in the first place especially against the rulesrdquo he questionedSession at Bhabha HospitalA senior official from Bhabha Hospital Bandra revealed that the Trained Nurses Association TNA ndash Maharashtra Chapter had approached the hospital seeking space to conduct a session on October 3 ldquoInitially we agreed since such education is important for nurses At first they didnrsquot mention any fees Later we learned they planned to charge Rs 500 per nurse We objected and they reduced it to Rs 300 We were unaware that this has to be conducted free of charge and we trusted themrdquo the official saidA copy of the certificate issued to the nurses after the session PicBy Special ArrangementHe added that 365 CNE certificates were generated mdash copies of which are in middayrsquos possession mdash during a singleday session in the hospitalrsquos meeting hall ldquoSeeing such a large number shocked me The hall can seat only 50 people or around 70 if everyone stands Itrsquos impossible that 365 nurses attended a fivehour session in that space Clearly the organisers failed to deliver any real trainingrdquo he saidlsquoImpossible and corruptrsquoShende also raised doubts about the legitimacy of the session ldquoHow can over 300 nurses be trained effectively in five hours in a hall that holds only 50 Were they trained in shifts Was the content even taught This is blatant corruptionrdquo he said ldquoAs a nurse myself I know this is impossible Mumbai hospitals are already shortstaffed mdash itrsquos not feasible for so many nurses to attend simultaneously This is a clear misuse of the situationrdquo he addedThe union has alleged that certificates were issued in exchange for payment without verifying attendance or education ldquoThis is not mere mismanagement mdash itrsquos outright fraud It undermines the integrity of the nursing professionrdquo an RMBKS spokesperson saidNurses couldnrsquot recall classWhen midday spoke to some nurses who were listed as attendees most could not describe what was taught ldquoThe topic was Infection Control They spoke about cleanlinessrdquo said one nurse Another added ldquoI attended only about two hours but still got the certificate with 10 credit points We get 10 points for a fivehour sessionrdquoTNA respondsWhen contacted Rajabhau Rathod president of TNA Maharashtra Branch said ldquoOur aim is to provide upgraded education to all healthcare professionals Yes there was a space crunch as we didnrsquot expect such a large turnout We managed by using the passage as well Itrsquos true that over 300 nurses attended and certificates were distributedrdquo Minister Hasan Mushrif has ordered an inquiry into the matter but no investigation report has been submitted yetWhy courses matterCNECPD courses are mandatory for nurses who must earn 150 credit points every five years to renew their professional licenses ldquoFor doctors earning 50 CME points in five years is easy due to frequent conferences But nurses who are already overburdened struggle to reach 150 points mdash making them vulnerable to such exploitationrdquo said the hospital official ldquoThis issue has resurfaced because the next license renewal cycle is due in 2027rdquo the official added