2 doctors transferred, barred from private practice

Srinagar: Two city-based doctors have been found guilty of engaging in private practice while being employed at government healthcare centers. As a result, they have been transferred to remote locations and banned from private practice for five years.

The doctors include Dr Pawan Kumar, Consultant Anaesthesia at Community Health Centre (CHC) Ramgarh and Dr Mohan Lal Attri, Consultant Surgeon at Community Health Centre (CHC) RS Pura.

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A recent order issued in this regard stated that the Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Department ordered the transfer of Dr Pawar from CHC Rangarh to Sub-District Hospital, Paddar, Kishtwar and Dr Mohan from CHC RS Pura to CHC, Gandoh, with immediate effect.

Apart from this, the department also imposed a 5-year ban on their private practice and withheld one increment from both the doctors. According to the official order, the government's decision aims to prevent potential risks associated with the doctor's continued private practice in non-institutional medical service, reports Daily Excelsior.

In August 2022, the Health and Medical Education Department issued Government Order No: 612 - JK(HME) of 2022, which explicitly prohibits medical practitioners from engaging in private practice while on duty or roster at government healthcare facilities.

Medical Dialogues had recently reported that an Associate Professor from the Department of Psychiatry at B.J. Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, who is also a government employee, was accused of engaging in private practice at multiple locations while holding his academic position. Additionally, the doctor charged approximately Rs 2,000 per consultation at these private healthcare facilities.

As a result, the doctor was under scrutiny and expected to face departmental action soon after the Commissioner of the Department of Medical Education had recommended proceedings against him to the Maharashtra government based on a committee's report.

Also read- Sassoon Hospital Associate Professor to face departmental action for private practice