Health deptt fails to crack whip on absentee medicos

Its efforts for resuscitation of health sector in J&K prove to be mere rhetoric

10/10/2015 

Nitesh Sangral

ET Report                             

Jammu, Oct 9: The ailing J&K Health and Medical Education Department has once again come into the limelight with its proposal to sack the absentee doctors across the state. Although final notice, served in this regard some months back, has failed to evoke any response as instead of terminating the doctors, Minister for Health remained busy in only creating 'rhetoric' at public places, functions as well as in the state assembly.

The issue came into focus again when Minister for Health and Medical Education while replying to a calling attention motion, filed by MLA Surankote, Choudhary Mohammad Akram, said that amid shortage of doctors in the state, the previous government had sent 329 doctors on deputation against 123 doctors. At the same time, he informed that 611 doctors had gone to pursue registrarship and senior registrarship as per the academic arrangements.

He, however, added that government was going tough against the doctors, who were reported absent from their regular duties since long.

His this statement came within a fortnight of his assurance to terminate the services of government doctors who had been on prolonged, unauthorized absence but his words had so far proved to be hollow.

Pertinently, these doctors from the state have done their degrees from within and outside the state and then migrated mostly to outside countries.

In sharp contrast to the assurances given by Minister for Health and Medical Education, the officials sources of Health Department told Early Times that the list of absentee doctors has been prepared by the officials of department and also handed over to the Minister a few months back but nothing has been done in this regard except rhetoric now and then at various platforms.

"The previous government also had same chart but due to political intervention these doctors were not terminated from the government service," sources claimed and adding that at present government is assuring that the action would be taken against them but interestingly, no action has been taken so far despite issuance of a final notice to them.

"Surprisingly, a doctor, who is working outside the state and his name was in the absentee list, came back to state and resigned from the service voluntarily as department had failed to terminate him from the government service even as he was issued a final notice," sources said, adding that most of absentee doctors, who belong to influential political families of the state, are taking special privilege and enjoying by earning handsome money outside the countries and have not resigned from government service keeping the backdoor open for their return.

Sources maintained that it might be political pressure, due to which the Minister for Health and Medical Department might have failed to terminate 'absentee doctors'.