Absent during Duty Hours: TN Health Minister orders action against PHC staff

Tirunelveli: In a surprise inspection conducted at an Upgraded Primary Health Center (UPHC) Thisayanvilai in Tirunelveli on Sunday, Health Minister Ma Subramanian was shocked to discover that only a Siddha doctor and a nurse were present on duty at the centre. He has ordered inquiry and action against PHC staff found absent during duty hours.

Apart from this, he also discovered that several PHC staff were absent when he paid a surprise visit to the centre. The staff includes duty doctors, a pharmacist, a driver and some hospital workers.   

Only one nurse and a doctor were present who accompanied the minister in explaining the irregularities at the centre.   

During the inspection, the Minister noticed that the nurse and the doctor were the only medical professionals who were treating around 100 outpatients and some inpatients daily. Because of the absence of some staff at the centre, patients were forced to wait for a long period for treatment.   

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Speaking to TNIE, patients said the UPHC doctors have been arriving for duty late and leaving early regularly. "I am a daily wager involved in farm work. As these doctors are coming late, I have to take leave whenever I come to UPHC for treatment," said a patient.

According to a press release from the Health and Family Welfare Ministry, the duty doctor and a few other staff, including nurses, were absent at the PHC.

It has emerged that medicines that were stocked inside the mobile clinic were not properly placed inside the box. When he inquired with the nurse there, the driver of the vehicle did not come to work and the medicines in the vehicle were not secured.

Hence, the Deputy Director (Health Services) has been directed to conduct an inquiry and submit a report on the action taken against the staff members, the release said.

He also instructed the Director of Public Health and Disease Prevention to put up notice boards of stock of drugs in all government primary health centres so that the public can know and use the stock of dog and snakebite medicines as needed.

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