One need not be medically indisposed to avail sick leave, be it from an institution of learning or a place of employment. Medical certificates are available for a cost with the price based on the need. All you have to do is to cough up anywhere between Rs. 100 and Rs. 350 to obtain a doctor’s attestation.
A visit to some of the private clinics and government hospitals was revealing with half of the doctors willing to provide a medical certificate without even enquiring about the condition of the patient let alone seeing the patient personally.
A doctor at Shivajinagar, who was willingly to provide a leave letter for Rs. 100, said that he could even customise the letter based on the “patients’ needs and health profile”. Interestingly, she was even ready to brief the patient on the symptoms of the illness that was being narrated in the letter. If the duration of leave is for a few days, then doctors generally state that the patient is suffering from cold, cough, viral fever or diarrhoea. However, if the duration is longer, the illness could be stated as typhoid, back injury and so on.
Besides the doctor’s prescriptions, various templates of fake leave letters with a logo, which are identical to genuine ones are also available on the internet. Admitting that the practice of providing fake medical certificates is rampant, a doctor at the Government Victoria Hospital said that several working professionals, including police officers, availed such letters even though they are medically fit. “Obtaining a leave letter would help them avail leave of absence and concessions at their workplace easily,” the doctor said.
The doctor said that there is a need for hospitals to have a single window system where leave letters could be scrutinised. With the number of medical practitioners increasing in the city, the medical director of a corporate hospital said, it would be impossible to regulate practitioners. “Employers need to be strict and take serious action if their employees feign sickness,” he said. Echoing his opinion, K. Ramdev, president, Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, said that the Karnataka Medical Council (under which all the MBBS practitioners are registered) has issued a warning to doctors and also suspended some of them for issuing medical certificates, which in a way give a stamp of approval and legitimise absence.
