Health dept terminates three absentee doctors

Final show cause notices have been issued to 20 others

KARACHI: The Sindh health department has terminated three doctors, while 20 others have been given final warnings to appear before the scrutiny committee within the next 14 days or face dismissal.

According to the health department, after a thorough investigation of 300 absentee doctors, 30 have lost their jobs within the last four months.

"We removed only those doctors who are permanent absconders," said health secretary Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo. He said that all of these doctors were on leave. "They are now settled outside Pakistan. They don't want to come back."



Dr Syed Ali Zahir, Dr Arshad Hussain and Dr Afshan Kaswati were issued repeated warnings to appear before the committee but they failed to respond, according to the health department.

Meanwhile, 20 other doctors, including Dr Rita Kumari, Dr Muhammad Rafiq, Dr Ghulam Murtaza, Dr Ayesha, Dr Shireen, Dr Muhammad Zafar, Dr Hidayatullah Keerio,  Dr Sadiq Ali, Dr Gohar Fatima, Dr Farhat Jameel, Dr Shehla Yasmeen, Dr Rehana Shaishta, Dr Tanzeel Wajeed, Dr Suneel Kumar, Dr Mazhar-ul-Haq, Dr Santosh Kumar, Dr Syed Mamnoon Akhtar, Dr Touqeer Hussain Mughal, Dr Farhat Zulfiqar and Dr Fouzia Narejo, have been issued final show cause notices, directing them to submit their replies within 14 days. If these doctors fail to comply with the orders, they may be removed from their positions as a major penalty, as these doctors have been absent from duty for many years.

"These doctors have been absent for at least 10 years," claimed Mangnejo. He said that the health department has decided to take strict action against them, adding that more doctors will be appointed through the Sindh Public Service Commission after the removal of these absentees. "There is zero tolerance for long time absentees," he added.



The health department officials said that the action against absentee doctors is being taken on the directives of the provincial health minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar, who has already issued directives to the doctors to be regular in their duties.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2015.