134 JJ Hospital doctors, staff assigned poll duty; dean seeks cancellation

Mumbai: Around 134 doctors and allied staff of the state-run Sir JJ Group of Hospitals in Byculla have been assigned duties for the upcoming election, which has come as a major setback for the hospital authorities.

Citing that the absence of doctors would disrupt patient care, the dean of JJ Group of Hospitals has requested the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to cancel the election duty orders for the 134 doctors and allied staff.

In a letter to the civic commissioner, JJ Hospital Dean Dr Ajay Bhandarwar said that sending medical staff for poll work would seriously affect healthcare services at the hospital. He pointed out that a large number of poor and needy patients from across Maharashtra depend on JJ Hospital for treatment.

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Explaining the situation, he told TOI, "A huge number of poor and needy patients from all over Maharashtra are admitted to Sir JJ Group of Hospitals as outpatients and inpatients. Moreover, the admission process for undergraduate and postgraduate courses is underway. If the said teaching staff and staff are sent for election work, there will be a hindrance in patient service."

This comes after the BMC commissioner, who also serves as the district election officer, wrote to the JJ Hospital dean on December 22, informing him about the election duty allocation for hospital staff.

To support his request, the dean attached a letter from the Under Secretary and Deputy Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra. The letter clearly states that as government hospitals are part of essential services, their staff are exempted from election duty.

Medical Dialogues in 2024 reported that the medical fraternity was in shock after almost 1,800 doctors and nurses from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and civic-run medical college hospitals were instructed to prepare for election duty on May 19 and 20, 2024.

Out of the 1,800 doctors and nurses, nearly 544 doctors and 820 nurses have received orders from the collector’s office to join election duties. Almost 900 doctors and nurses from KEM Hospital, 250 from Sion, 278 from Cooper, 220 from Nair, 35 from Nair Dental and 48 from JJ got the letters.

Each doctor and nurse at these government medical colleges and hospitals received individual letters sent by the government authorities. Not only were the doctors and nurses reluctant to execute the sudden notice, but the health department also refused to send them for poll duty.

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