Poll duty for 48 doctors at Arambag Medical College triggers uproar

Kolkata: Forty-eight doctors from Prafulla Chandra Sen Government Medical College and Hospital in Arambag have been requisitioned by the Election Commission (EC) to serve as presiding officers at polling booths, triggering howls of protest from hospital officials and the medical community. 

The hospital, which caters to a wide region covering towns and villages in Hooghly and East Burdwan, has 111 faculty members. Of the 48 doctors selected for election duty are senior faculty, with an additional 14 non-medical staff also requisitioned.

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Hospital officials and doctors were taken aback when they received the notice. “This is the first time in my 25-year career as a faculty member that I have been drafted for poll duty. Patient care services will be crippled if 48 doctors stay away from the hospital. Students will suffer, too, as we are all teachers,” said a senior faculty member. “Of the eight faculty members in our department, four have been called for election duty. This is unusual. We provide essential and emergency services,” said another faculty member, reports TOI.

Following discussions with Principal Rama Prasad Roy, applications for exemption from poll duty were submitted.

The principal said that he had spoken to the district magistrate, who is also the district election officer, and that there seemed to have been a communication gap that led to the situation. He added that assurance had been given that the doctors would be exempted from poll duty.

Hospital administrators noted that doctors and other medical staff typically provide emergency services and are rarely called for election duty. Indranil Biswas, Principal of Medical College Hospital Kolkata, said, “Doctors and other medical staff provide emergency services. So, we do not usually see orders asking them to report for election duty. We have received a requisition notice for 22 clerical staff members.”

Similar requisition notices were issued to clerical staff at other hospitals. At the College of Medicine and Sagar Dutta Hospital in Kamarhati, three clerical staff members received notices. Principal Parthapratim Pradhan commented that it was the first time he had heard that doctors were being given poll duty.

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An EC official attributed the issue to the state health department, explaining that the names of doctors had been provided by the department before making appointments. CEO Manoj Aggarwal clarified that the district election officer has the authority to exempt anyone from election duty and noted that medical services are considered an emergency responsibility.