About 1,053 doctors of the Provincial Medical and Health Services cadre in Uttar Pradesh, who were absent from service for the past one decade, were dismissed on Friday. These doctors, posted in government hospitals and community health centres all over the State, could not be traced. It is suspected that they are either practising on their own or have gone abroad.
According to a senior medical and health official, these doctors were in the rank of Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS), Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Medical Superintendent.
Before taking the decision, the government referred the case to the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, which ratified the dismissals.
R.R. Bharti, Director-General of Medical and Health Services, told The Hindu that simultaneously the government moved the Public Service Commission for appointing 5,500 PMHS doctors. “About 3,500 doctors have already been appointed on a regular pay.”
As for the missing doctors, Dr. Bharti said that since they could not be traced for the past eight-10 years, it was suspected that they were engaged in private practice or had migrated to some Gulf countries. They were not entitled to salary and other benefits for the period of absence.
The problem surfaced three years ago. The Medical and Health Department launched a massive exercise to trace them. “Notices were inserted in newspapers and in the visual media to trace their location, but to no avail,” the official said.
