AIIMS doc hits back after notice
New Delhi: Following the AIIMS’ show-cause otice to a senior resident doctor for taking to Twitter to claim that statistics provided by the Centre and the ICMR about N95 masks were a lie, Dr Srinivas Rajkumar T. hit back on Tuesday and threatened to quit. ■
Following AIIMS (Delhi) administration’s showcause notice to a senior resident doctor for taking to Twitter to claim that statistics provided by the Union health ministry and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) about N95 masks were a lie, Dr Srinivas Rajkumar T. hit back on Tuesday to state it was time to say goodbye to the hospital.
In response to the notice asking Dr Srinivas why action should not be taken against him for breach of Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, he tweeted, “After people who I considered my own have betrayed me, I feel it’s time to say goodbye to #AIIMS. Thanks to the strength and self-sufficiency inculcated by my friends, family, esteemed teachers, colleagues, and juniors from all walks of life.”
It was on May 25 that Dr Srinivas had first tweeted that the N95 statistics claimed by the Union health ministry and the ICMR in Delhi was a lie.
He had said there were major quality and standardisation issue with India-made N95 masks.
In the showcause notice, the administration said, “Dr Srinivas has provided no details to support his claim. Apart from being a senior resident at AIIMS, he is also the secretary of the RDA, AIIMS, New Delhi. By virtue of holding these important positions, his words have the ability to influence the public and healthcare workers around the country.”
“At a time when the nation is fighting against a pandemic, unsubstantiated statements such as these can damage the morale of the frontline healthcare workers, leading them to doubt the protection available to them.
“Dr Srinivas has provided no evidence to support his claims, and despite access to institutional mechanisms for grievance redressal, has chosen to voice his claim on a public platform and sought media visibility to malign institutions,” the notice said.
Dr Srinivas was expelled last week from the post of general secretary of the institute’s RDA after he issued a statement in the media, which the doctors’ body said was “false.”