Dr Sunil Kumar Addl Director of GTB hospital appointed as new DGHS chief

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has recently appointed Additional Director of Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) hospital, Dr Sunil Kumar, as the new chief of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

However, Dr Kumar will assume the office on August 12, after Dr Rajiv Garg, the current head of the DGHS completes his tenure.

The Centre had extended Dr Garg's tenure for one month on July 13. However, till completion of his tenure, Dr Kumar will function as the officer-on special duty in the DGHS.

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According to IANS report, the Health Ministry stated in the order that Kumar's services as the officer-on special duty before taking charge of the DGHS would allow him to have first-hand knowledge of Directorate and appreciate the nuances of technical committees set up for the management of on-going COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Kumar made headlines recently while being the Director of the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. In the month of April, he directed heads of various departments to ensure that healthcare staff on coronavirus duty do not embarrass the government by highlighting on social media some inevitable difficulties they may face while carrying out their "national duty".

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"(The staff) shall be further advised to refrain from talking to the media or use social media platforms to make their complaints public without first bringing it to the knowledge of their concerned duty-roster controlling office," the directions by Dr Kumar read.

The order came after many healthcare workers from the GTB Hospital shared their plight regarding insanely long working hours, lack of accommodation, and substandard quality of Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs) on social media.

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