The All Kerala Health Service Dental Surgeons’ Union has protested against the manner in which a Government Order signed by the Deputy Director (Dental) plans to nominate a nodal officer for each district without following the parameters that have been in place so far.
Usually, the senior-most or experienced dental surgeon in the district nominated by the District Medical Officer becomes the nodal officer.
However, the order on March 14 does not stipulate any rules to nominate the nodal officer. The function of the nodal officer is to co-ordinate the activities related to dental health and report cases to the government in the monthly meeting.
Dr. Sujith Harshan, president of the Dental Surgeons’ Union, said in a statement that if the order was not withdrawn, the union would consider taking up protest activities. The union asked the government to rectify the anomalies in the order.