Health centre staff’s salary stopped
Shyam Sood
Rajouri, June 30
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) vide his office order issued on June 29 has stopped the payment of salary of the whole staff, including three doctors, of the Primary Health Centre (PHC) at Budhal in the district for remaining absent from duty.
He has also directed the Deputy CMO to initiate an inquiry into the matter and submit his factual report to the CMO office with his remarks and recommendations for further action.
Both the sanctioned posts of regular Medical Officer (MO) have been lying vacant in the health centre for the last few years because of an acute shortage of doctors in the district.
To provide required health care to the people of this remote area, the government has appointed three doctors under the National Health Mission (NHM).
On June 27 and 28, residents of the areas informed the senior health officers, including Block Medical Officer (BMO), that all the three doctors, namely Mohammad Jahangir, Shazad Hussain and Robina Mir, junior lab technician Vikrant Gupta and nursing orderly Mohammad Munshi were absent from duty.
People also locked the PHC on June 28 and uploaded a video on WhatsApp groups. On the complaint of the people, the Block Medical Officer (BMO) sought explanation from the absentee employees.
Taking suo motu notice of the viral video, Dr Suresh Gupta vide his office order, No CMO/Adm/R/2017-18/3100-3106 dt 29/6/17, has initiated an internal inquiry and also stopped the salary of entire staff till further orders and brought the matter into the notice of the Deputy Commissioner, Director, Health Services and the Appointing Authority.
