28 med officials quit after Kashi ACMO’s death, relent later
VARANASI/LUCKNOW: An additional chief medical medical officer (ACMO) died in Varanasi on Wednesday after testing positive for Covid-19, chief medical officer Dr VB Singh said. After his death, 28 medical officers in charge of community health centres and primary health centres in Varanasi submitted their resignation from their administrative posts, CMO confirmed.
The medical officers alleged that a deputy collector-rank official of the district administration was mentally torturing them and threatening to lodge FIRs against them for supposedly not being able to control Covid-19 cases in the district. Later, the medical officers resumed duty after persuasion, the chief medical officer said.
While submitting their resignations, the medical officer also claimed that the administrative official had threatened ACMO Dr Jung Bahadur with dismissal from service and such a threat may have sent him into shock.
Director general, medical health, Uttar Pradesh, Dr DS Negi said the state health department had sought a report from the Varanasi CMO over the resignation of medical officers. The health department has also directed the additional director, medical health, Varanasi, to call a meeting of all the medical officers to resolve their grievances, he said.
The additional director will discuss the issue with the divisional commissioner and the district magistrate. Doctors and medical officers have been directed to join duty to maintain health services in all the hospitals, Dr Negi said. Earlier, the medical officers wrote in their resignation letter that the assistant nodal officer/ deputy collector issued a letter on August 9 in which he accused the medical officers of not doing enough to control Covid-19 in Varanasi,
they said. He had also threatened to register a case against the medical officers, they said.
The medical officers further said this amounted to mental torture. Issuing a letter on July 23, the deputy collector sought an explanation from all the medical officers in charge of health centres, holding them responsible for all Covid-19 deaths in the district so far, they said.
They said that this was a false allegation against the medical officers.
“All of us are resigning from our post of incharge medical officer. And we are ready to discharge our medical duty under your kind guidance,” the doctors unanimously said.
CMO said, “They (medical officers in charge of CHCs and PHCs) submitted resignations from the post of incharge. They have been assured that their problems would be solved. They were pacified and urged to return to work. Thereafter, medical officers returned to their duty. They are sending their evening report properly.”
For his part, Varanasi CMO also said ACMO Jung Bahadur took ill four days back. He was admitted to Sir Sundar Lal Hospital on August 9 after he complained of breathing problem. At SSL, he tested positive for Covid-19. He died on Wednesday. CMO said Dr Jung Bahadur played a crucial role in controlling infectious diseases in the district. District magistrate Kaushalraj Sharma expressed deep sorrow over ACMO’s death.
ACMO was looking after arrangements at the Covid hospitals, he said.
Dr Sachin Vaishya, president of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Medical Health Services Association (PMHSA), said the state government should check bureaucratic interference in the working of the government doctors posted in Covid hospitals in 75 districts of the state.
The state health department should ensure that administrative officers do not misbehave with government doctors, he said.