Relief: Doctors suspended on account of ratbite of patient get suspension revoked

Hyderabad: Following the protest of doctors across Telangana against the suspension of two on-duty doctors and nursing staff due to allegations of being negligent towards the patient who was bitten by rats in the ICU of Kamareddy Government Hospital, the Director of Medical Education (DME) on Friday revoked the suspension imposed on these three medical staff.

The move came right after DME carefully examined the report submitted by the three-member committee on the irregularities mentioned against the three medical staff and revoked their suspension immediately. 

These three medical staff include- Dr Vasanth Kumar (Associate Professor), ICU in-charge Dr Kavya (Assistant Professor) and G Manjula, the nursing officer.

Also read- ICU Rat Bite Case: Telangana Doctors Protest Against Suspension Of Two Doctors, Nurse

“Following a thorough review of the three-member committee’s report on the alleged irregularities involving the doctors and staff nurse, the suspension is hereby revoked with immediate effect," stated the order as reported by SF.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that two doctors and nursing staff were suspended on Sunday due to allegations of being negligent towards the patient who was bitten by rats on his fingers and toes while he was undergoing treatment at the Kamareddy government hospital.

The three employees in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Government Medical College and General Hospital, Kamareddy, faced disciplinary action after an investigation conducted by Vaidya Vidhana Parishad commissioner Ajay Kumar uncovered alleged medical negligence on their part.

In response to this, the doctors and hospital employees staged a protest over the suspension of these three colleagues. Wearing black badges, doctors participated in the protest in front of the hospital. Not only this, doctors from government hospitals across the state, including Mancherial, Jangaon, Nirmal, Ramagundam, Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy and Asifabad, among others also expressed their displeasure with the government's decision. They demanded that the suspension be revoked and threatened to go on strike if the suspension was not lifted.

Condemning the suspension of the doctors, the Telangana Teaching Government Doctors’ Association (TTGDA) said that the doctors were concerned only till they treated the patients and it was the responsibility of sanitation staff and officials to keep the hospital free from rats, dogs, pigs and insects.

Following this, the association had a meeting with Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha on Monday evening. The Minister assured the protesting doctors that the suspension order would be revoked and action would be initiated against appropriate authorities.

Dr Ram Singh, the in-charge superintendent of the hospital, told TNIE, "DME Dr Thriveni received a report from a committee that investigated the alleged irregularities involving the doctors and staff nurse. Following the report, the suspension was revoked with immediate effect. The doctors — Dr Kavya and Dr Vasanth Kumar, along with Staff Nurse Manjula — received notifications via WhatsApp regarding the revocation of their suspension."

This move received praise from the Telangana Teaching Government Doctors’ Association who thanked the government for making the call of revoking the suspension of these three medical staff.

Speaking to TOI, the general secretary of TTGDA, Dr J Tirupathi Rao said “We would like to take this opportunity to thank the State government for reversing the suspension orders. Right from day one, we were very clear that the doctors couldn’t be held for the upkeep of the hospital. The sanitation agency and administrative staff of government hospitals are directly responsible for the proper maintenance of the hospital."

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