Unauthorized absence: Andhra govt starts identifying doctors who skip duties; issue show cause notices
Special Principal Secretary of the Medical and Health Department said they have already issued notices to doctors who are absent from duties
By Sri Lakshmi Muttevi Published on 9 Aug 2023 5:52 AM GMT
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh government has decided to take action against doctors who have been on unauthorized leave for a long time.
Notices have been issued to a few doctors so far.
Chief Secretary Dr. KS Jawahar Reddy asked the Medical and Health Department to identify doctors who have been absent from duty for more than 30 days without permission and initiate disciplinary action against them.
In a meeting with the medical and health department, Chief Secretary Dr KS Jawahar Reddy said it is observed that doctors working in various government hospitals in the state are absent from duty for a long time and appropriate action needs to be taken against such doctors.
Special Principal Secretary of the Medical and Health Department said they have already issued notices to doctors who are absent from duties. He said further action would be taken after receiving their explanations.
He said the government has given high priority to public health in the state and is filling up all the vacancies in the medical and health department. He said the government is spending crores of rupees to improve the medical infrastructure.
He reviewed the construction progress of medical colleges at Vijayanagaram, Rajamahendravaram, Eluru, Machilipatnam, and Nandyala Medical Colleges.
He directed the health officials to set special targets for ANM, Asha workers in PHC, CHC, and other hospitals to encourage institutional deliveries, and reduce the number of maternal and child deaths.
76 Asst prof issued notices
Recently, around 76 assistant professors and two associate professors working at government medical colleges were found to be on unauthorized leave for more than a year. A GO was issued recently, seeking an explanation from the doctors within 15 days.
Among the assistant professors, 18 are from Andhra Medical College (AMC) in Visakhapatnam, 13 are from Sri Venkateswara Medical College in Tirupati, and 12 are from the Government Medical College in Ongole.
Director of Medical Education (DME) DVSL Narasimham said many professors have violated the service rule and remained absent from duties for a year. Their absence will be treated as resignation from government service as it has caused massive inconvenience to the hospital administration.
