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| Govt dilly-dallies termination of 300 erring medicos | | Kashmir doctors 'bunk' Govt jobs, work overseas | | Abdul Majid
Early Times Report
Srinagar, May 11: At a time when Jammu and Kashmir is struggling to improve healthcare services in the state, around 300 doctors employed with government-run hospitals in the Valley are absconding from duty, only to serve overseas and earn fortunes at the cost of homeland.
Official sources said scores of doctors, mostly specialists and super specialists, from the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir, the Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar and the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura have been working abroad in brazen violation of JK service rules.
For most of these "erring doctors", the oil-rich Middle East has been their preference where they earn in millions and enjoy a lavish lifestyle.
But in doing so, the doctors not only resort to injustice with their government services, they also unduly burden the state exchequer, which often pays them all the service benefits on return. No wonders that patient care remains the first casuality of this disservice allowed by government over the years.
While some doctors have managed getting "long leaves", others have been "informally off". "Many such absent doctors have even been drawing salaries here… A cross examination of their passport entries and attendance register will open the can of worms," said a source adding the government should not spare the erring lot.
Kickbacks and political influence seem to be the main causes of this mischief. While some doctors, who earn big perks abroad don't mind greasing palms of JK government officials to keep their illegal services a secret, others enjoy political patronage.
Sources said during the previous National Conference-led coalition many influential doctors who were in the good books of government were allowed to work abroad to equally enjoy service benefits back home.
"A SKIMS medico who worked for over a decade in the Gulf was given promotion only because his absence from work was treated as a service period," said a source. "Maximum leave of absence from government service is five years, beyond which its brazen violation. But in Kashmir this dies-non counts to cumulative services," he ridiculed.
Take the case of GMC Srinagar, which seems to be another hub of such illegal activities. A physiotherapist with B&J Hospital Barzulla has been declared absent from duty for around eight years. Till now the GMC Principal only served show cause notices to the professional working abroad. "If the GMC Principal was serious, the offender should have been terminated from service at the very first instance. Why this delay?" argued an insider adding absence of the Physiotherapist was affecting the healthcare services at the orthopedic hospital.
Observers said the erring lot should be terminated to pave way for other medicos to join government services. "This deadwood unduly occupies space which they don't serve. This is typical injustice with the entire healthcare sector," said a health official adding "Let good doctors be given a chance to serve homeland."
The last time government acted against the menace was in 2007. That time the then Secretary Health and Medical Education had claimed to have prepared dossiers against 70 doctors, who skipped their duties and took up jobs in Gulf and other countries illegally. "But thereafter merely some show cause notices were served whereas none was terminated," said an official in the General Administrative Department of the Civil Secretariat.
Health Minister Lal Singh admits the problem. He recently told media that list of erring medicos working abroad was being prepared. But any termination is awaited! |
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