AP: Doctors seek to revoke Govt order to appoint All India service employee as DME
On September 8, the government issued an order, GO 1871, which put Dr. V Vinod Kumar in a full additional charge of the post of Director of Medical Education until further orders. The doctor is presently the project director of the AP Health Systems strengthening project (APSHSSP).
Tirupati: Doctors in Andhra Pradesh are up in arms against the recent government order to appoint an All India service employee as Director of Medical Education (DME), calling the move a serious violation of the AP Medical Education service rules 2002.
On September 8, the government issued an order, GO 1871, which put Dr. V Vinod Kumar in a full additional charge of the post of Director of Medical Education until further orders. The doctor is presently the project director of the AP Health Systems strengthening project (APSHSSP). According to the government doctors in the state, the appointment violates the service rules.
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They are demanding the order be revoked as it goes against the AP Medical Education service rules 2002. The doctor's associations, including the AP Government Doctors Association (APGDA), are showing anger against the move, with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) now extending their solidarity, reports Hans India.
According to the service rules, the person appointed as DME should have two years of experience in the cadre of Additional Director of Medical Education and should have worked as Principal of Medical College or Superintendent of Teaching general hospital. According to the doctors, the DME is the head of 11 government teaching hospitals, and it would be unwise to appoint a non-medical officer to that post, as done in this case. They added that this also goes against the guidelines of the National Medical Commission.
The president of the SV Medical College unit of APGDA, Dr. S Subba Rao, said that the association's central committee had taken the matter to the government. The government is justifying the move by saying that the appointment is temporary until a regular appointment is made. The doctors' association is reportedly waiting for the government's decision in the matter to accordingly take an action on the incident.
The Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association has also submitted a representation against the Government Order and has asked the government to appoint a DME as per the service rules. The IMA is taking the issue to the national body.
