Jammu and Kashmir Govt assigned duties to MS and DMS of Government hospitals

Srinagar: Following the recent order, various duties and responsibilities were assigned to the Medical Superintendents (MS) and Deputy Medical superintendents (DMS) of Government hospitals of the Health and Medical education department by the Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday. 

The order was issued by the additional chief secretary Health and Medical Education Department Vivek Bharadwaj, which stated that the Medical superintendent would be the official spokesperson of the hospital and the deputy medical superintendent would have to ensure the availability of medicines and functioning of electronic items, reports the Dispatch

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The order stated, "Whereas, the positions of Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents have existed in the Government Hospitals of Health and Medical Education Department for several years. The purpose of these positions is to manage day-to-day affairs of the hospitals; the role and responsibilities of these officers requires clarity to bring greater efficiency and accountability in the interest of health and patient care; extensive consultations were held in a meeting under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department on 07-02-2022 with all the stakeholders including the Principals of Medical Colleges, Srinagar & Jammu and some other Heads of Departments regarding assigning of duties and responsibilities to the Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals of Health and Medical Education Department. "

It also added, "AND WHEREAS, after threadbare discussion, it was observed that. the some areas of work need to be formally assigned to the Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents of the Government Hospitals of the Health and Medical Education Department so that there is effectiveness in functioning and enhanced accountability among these officers in the interest of health and patient care and in order to take all the stakeholders on board, assignments were identified and drafted for considering to be entrusted to the Medical Superintendents and Deputy Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals of Health and Medical Education Department and were circulated to all the concerned HODs, Medical Superintendent of all Associated and District Hospitals and thereafter a meeting was convened under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary, Health & Medical Education Department on 11.02.2022 for seeking suggestions on the draft."

Further it read, "AND WHEREAS, based on the consultations and suggestions put forth by the participants in the discussions, some suggested modifications have been incorporated in the draft and it has been decided to notify the duties and responsibilities of these officers accordingly."

The order stated the duties and responsibilities of Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals which include overall supervision and control of the hospital and shall be official spokesperson of the hospital, to ensure availability of doctors in the hospital round the clock for health and patient care. In Associated Hospitals this should be done in coordination with the respective HoDs, hall supervise the functioning and maintenance of all wings of the Hospital including Administration, Medical, Civil, Mechanical, IT, Electrical, etc, to establish and ensure implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), supervision of medical records and its proper maintenance, to ensure preventive maintenance schedules of all equipment and physical assets, planning, Development and Budget of the hospital, exercising of financial and administrative powers delegated to him under relevant rules and regulations, supervision and monitoring of Hospital Development Fund, fully functional emergency room, 24X7 availability of free drugs/medicines, maintaining the roster of Doctors and staff and its display on the Notice Board/ Website etc. In Associated Hospitals this should be done in coordination with the respective HoDs, to ensure all prescriptions are signed/stamped by the Consulting Doctor and all medicines provided by the Hospital to the patients (OPD/IPD) are entered in Computerized OPD/IPD tickets, implementation of all Government Programmes including Kaya Kalp and Mera Haspatal in coordination with the respective HoDs, ensuring observance of referral protocol for advanced treatment in any other hospital, inventory management of the hospital supplies including life saving drugs, to implement accreditation process of the hospital viz. NABL, NABH, ISO, ICI etc, implementing the generic medicine policy. In Associated Hospitals this should be done in coordination with the respective HoDs, prominent display of Citizen Charter, induction & Training of Paramedics, over all supervision and control of Paramedical staff, sanction of free treatment of indigent patients, to deal with routine administrative and public relation issues, local Purchase for Hospital as per rules, Utilization of the Hospital Development Fund, Implementation of National Health Programmes, Training of Field Administrators and Academic programme in Hospital Administration and Maintenance of sanitation and security in the hospital.

As per the report in the Dispatch, the Consultants and Medical Officers of J&K Health and Family Welfare (Gazetted) Service and other organizations of the H&ME Department i.e. NHM/ Ayush etc, who are posted in District/Tertiary care Hospitals should remain under the supervision/control of the Medical Superintendent concerned during their posting in such hospitals, clarifies the order.

As per the order, the duties and responsibilities of Deputy Medical Superintendents in the Government Hospitals include that during the absence of Medical Superintendent, the Deputy Medical Superintendent need to look-after the aforesaid routine works, To supervise manpower availability to run the affairs of the hospital, Daily coordination and interaction with Heads of Civil, Mechanical, IT, Electrical wings etc for smooth functioning of the hospital, to ensure availability of medicines, functioning of electric/electronic items/equipment and their periodic maintenance as per standard. guidelines, nodal officer for all grievances of the staff, any other work assigned by the Medical Superintendent from time to time, Bio Medical waste disposal under Bio Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, Keeping record of every meeting taken in the hospital and action taken on the decisions as per minutes of the meeting, To ensure that Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are followed properly, to ensure mandatory information is displayed on notice boards of the hospital for awareness of general public, to ensure hospital transport facilities are used for the specific purpose only, Manpower planning, legal matters and implementation of all relevant Laws, annual appraisal of staff and Public Grievances. 

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