Health dept sacks nine doctors over ‘paid’ absence

Also issues show-cause notices to 11 doctors.

KARACHI:

Nine doctors have been sacked, 11 have been sent show-cause notices while two are being investigated for involvement in corruption on the directives of Sindh Health Minister Owais Muzaffar.

On the direction of the minister, Sindh Health Secretary Inamullah Dharejo terminated the services of the nine doctors who were reportedly not performing their duties for the last three to four years but still getting paid. The health department decided to let them go as “they had affected the government exchequer and deceived the department continuously.” The minister had directed the top officials of his department to ensure complete attendance of all medical staff, including doctors, saying strict action would be taken otherwise.

The department has sacked Dr Asif Hussain, Dr Lajpat, Dr Masroor Sarwar, Dr Naveed Ahmed, Dr Rafique Ahmed, Dr Muhammad Saleem, Dr Masood Ahmed, Dr Maqsood Ahmed and Dr Noman Ahmed. The show-cause notices have been issued to Dr Kem Laljee, Dr Nawaz Ali Baloch, Dr Shafi Memon, Dr Riaz Ali Lakho, Dr Geeta Bai, Dr Rajesh Kumar, Dr Abdul Rasheed Lakho, Dr Imdad Ali Dahri, Dr Hidayatullah Keerio, and Dr Sameera Jameel.

The health minister also took notice of the allegations of corruption in purchasing hospital equipment against two doctors. The investigation will soon be conducted against Dr Ashique Ali Bhutto and Dr Zulfiqar Siyal. Both the doctors, according to the department’s record, purchased hospitals’ equipments from different companies but all those machineries were never supplied to public hospitals.

A four-member committee has also been formed to investigate all health department employees. The department has suspended 59 doctors of different hospitals of the province on different charges, particularly over absence from duties.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 4^th, 2013.