Odisha: 2 absent CHC doctors get show cause notice

The doctors allegedly did not take any leaves or permission from the authorities to remain absent during duty hours. Show-cause notices have been served to the doctors and they have been instructed to file their responses within the next three days.

During his visit to the CHC, MLA Manoranjan Samantara reviewed the doctors' attendance records and found that two doctors had not signed the register, indicating they were absent without approved leave. This prompted further investigation into their whereabouts. 

Following a complaint from MLA Samantara, Uma Shankar Mishra, the Medical Officer, took immediate action. The authorities have issued show-cause notices to the absent doctors on Saturday. Additionally, their salaries have been suspended effective June 13 and will remain so until they return to duty. Uma Shankar Mishra, the medical officer, told the Times of India, “We are waiting for their reply to the notices to take further course of action.”

Manoranjan Samantara's visit was part of a routine inspection of the CHC's facilities. During this visit, he discovered the discrepancies in the doctors' attendance, which led to the subsequent actions by the medical authorities.

Last year similar incident took place when two medical officers (MO) and three nurses were issued show-cause notices following a surprise inspection at three primary health centres (PHCs) and four urban primary health centres (UPHCs) in Gurugram by the Gurugram chief medical officer (CMO) who found several employees absent from duty. In Himachal Pradesh also, Several medical officers and employees, along with the Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of a sub-division hospital in Mussoorie, were found absent from duty unannounced during the surprise inspection conducted by the health secretary in charge.