SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Sept 16: Jharkhand Health Services Association (JHSA) is heading for a showdown again with the state government over the cancellation of doctors’ medical registration.
In the 15 days of September so far, the government has issued notice to four long-absentee medical officers for dismissal from service and recommended the National Medical Council (NMC) for cancellation of their medical registration.
JHSA, the frontal organization of the government’s medical officers, has condemned the government’s action and called it illegal and unconstitutional.
Vidyanand Sharma Pankaj, the joint secretary of the state government, has issued notices to the doctors absent from duty for a long time to dismiss them from their jobs and recommended the NMC for cancellation of their medical registration under the National Medical Council (Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics Regulations 2002).
The notice of dismissal and cancellation of medical registration has been issued to:
- Dr Rajiv Bhardwaj, medical officer of MCH Ormajhi (Ranchi). As per the official record, Dr Bhardwaj has been absent from his duty since October 2020.
- Dr Meeta Sinha, medical officer of Divisional Hospital Rajmahal of Sahibganj district. Dr Sinha has been absent from her duty since January 17, 2017.
- Dr Rekha Kumari, medical officer of community health centre (CHC) Musabani (Jamshedpur). She has been absent from her duty since December 19, 2020.
- Dr Gunjan Updhaya posted at Potka (Jamshedpur) who has been absent from duty since January 16, 2021.
“The association wants to ask the joint secretary that being absent from duty comes in which category of crime. Killing the profession is a punishment for a long absence from duty,“ quipped the JHSA official in a press release.
An office-bearer of JHSA said that while the dust of the private practice dispute has not settled completely, the joint secretary issued another controversial notice against eye expert doctors to test the patience of the association.
“It is a concerning matter that when the health minister (Banna Gupta) and additional chief secretary (Arun Kumar Singh) at the tripartite meeting on August 20 assured to withdraw the notification on the private practice with certain conditions, the joint secretary on August 30 issued another notification for harassing eye experts,” JHSA office-bearer said.
A JHSA official said that the new committee of JHSA would hold a special meeting at Ranchi after the installation ceremony on September 17 to decide on the agitation course against the anti-doctors policy of the state government.
The official expressed hope that the health minister and additional chief secretary of health would intervene in these matters so that doctors would not need to go on the path of agitation.
