The threat of action by State health department has started proving effective as 120 doctors who were transferred recently have joined their new place of posting. The state health department has claimed that the other transferred doctors are in the process of joining duties at the transferred locations. Eight transferred doctors have knocked at the doors of the court but it too has not granted any reprieve to them.
The Director General (DG) of state health services, Dr D S Rawat told The Pioneer that 160 transferred doctors have been relieved for the transferred locations and 120 of them even joined new place of posting. He said that remaining doctors would also be relieved soon and join new hospital.
The DG clarified that the medical board comprising of all specialists would look into the cases of medical grounds suggested by the transferred doctors as a plea to stall their transfers. He informed that usually two specialists are part of medical board but this time the department has decided to appoint six specialists in the board to ensure no doctor is able to get reprieve on flimsy medical grounds. Dr Rawat also warned of stern disciplinary action against the doctors who fail to join new place of posting.
In the biggest reshuffle of doctors of state health services in the history of the state, 241 doctors were transferred by the state health department on June 15.
In an attempt to strengthen facilities in the hospitals located in the mountainous regions the department sent 171 doctors from hospitals located in plain areas while 70 medical offices serving in mountainous locations from last many years were sent to hospitals located in plain areas.
The large scale transfers created panic among the doctors and many who were shifted to undesirable place tried every trick in the bag to stall their transfers.
However their efforts proved futile as the state health department under clear orders of state administration and State Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat (who also holds the health portfolio) steadfastly refused to accommodate those trying hard to cancel their transfers.
The resolve of the department could be gauged from the fact that it refused to honour the request of hospital administration of associated hospital of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) to let five transferred doctors continue working in the hospital till their replacements are found.
The transfer orders this time were individual instead of conventional method where a consolidated list is released. The order clearly mentioned that the doctor should be relieved within seven days and join new place within next seven days.
Further it mentioned that salary of June month of transferred doctors would be disbursed from new place of posting and the head of the department would be held accountable for any delay in relieving transferred doctors.