Hari Singh hospital gets tough on attendance of employees

Tribune News Service

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Srinagar, September 17

The ophthalmology department of Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital here has gone tough on paramedic staff over leaving the hospital before the office hours.

After receiving a series of complaints from doctors and patients, the authorities directed the paramedics to mark their attendance in the morning as well as in the evening before leaving the hospital.

Patients have been complaining that they had to wait for hours or at times for days to get the eye examinations done. “A doctor told me to get an eye examination done but there is no paramedic or technician in the room,” a patient from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district said.

“Due to persistent complaints that employees are leaving the eye outpatient department before 4 pm, it is hereby ordered that all the employees will mark their attendance in the office between 10 to 10.15 am and 3.45 to 4.00 pm,” reads an order by the head of the department, ophthalmology, Dr Tariq Qureshi, who has recommended stern action against the absentees.

Qureshi said all the employees, who mark their attendance as ‘P’ (present), are strictly directed to mark their attendance with proper initials on the attendance register.

However, officials said the hospital was facing a shortage of paramedics and nursing staff.

The 850-bed SMHS Hospital has 120 nurses which are not able to cater to the rush of indoor patients. “At times, the number of admitted patients goes beyond 1,000. Certainly, it is impossible for nurses to provide adequate care to all the patients,” said Doctors Association Kashmir president GM Mir.