Thiruvananthapuram: In Kerala 56 doctors who have been absent without permission from various medical colleges and pharmaceutical colleges have been issued show-cause notice by the state health and family welfare department. The show-cause notice issued by Rajan Khobragade, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, directs the doctors to report for duty at the ACS Secretariat within 15 days. The show-cause notice has been published in a national English language newspaper and also on the official government notice board.
The show-cause notice said that the service of the doctors who fail to appear within the stipulated time will be terminated without further notice, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution of India, the Civil Services Rules of Kerala and the Rules of the Service of Kerala. The show-cause notice further states that the health and medical education services in Kerala are a model for the entire country and the unauthorised absence of these doctors is seriously affecting the functioning of the medical colleges and patient care. Therefore, the government considers the action of these doctors as highly irregular and cannot be condoned. According to the report, all the doctors have been given sufficient time to resume their duties by the authorities, but they have defied the guidelines and are continuing their unauthorised absences. A notice has been issued to assistant professors and lecturers of medical and pharmaceutical colleges.
The highest number of unauthorised absent doctors reported to be 12 is from Kozhikode Medical College followed by Thiruvananthapuram Medical College which has nine absent doctors and of the departments, the highest number of absent physicians was reported in General Medicine: 13. General Surgery reported six absent physicians. The absence period of one doctor working as a lecturer in the Department of Pharmacy, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram is 16 years; the longest absence period on the list. For the other doctors on the list, the absence period varies from one to seven years.
