Srinagar, Nov 14: A day after 181 employees were found absent at DH Shopian during a surprise inspection by ADC Shopian, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Thursday condemned the administration’s report and called it “flawed.”
President DAK, Dr. M.Y. Tak, said the report, which recorded several staff members as absent, is flawed, leading to unwarranted penalization of healthcare workers and threatening to damage the already delicate doctor-patient relationship.
DAK said it is concerned that the report misrepresents the operational reality of hospitals adding hospital functioning is entirely different from other government departments.
“One-third of the staff remains on pre-night off, another third on post-night off, and the remaining staff is on duty during the day. As such, it is normal to see only a portion of the staff present at any given time, especially in the morning hours,” DAK said.
It said the biometric data recorded at 10:10 a.m. without allowing sufficient time for updates, resulted in erroneous attendance readings. “Despite this, the physical tour by the visiting officer found that all departments were operational at the time.”
As per DAK, several errors in the report were particularly troubling. “Dr. Mukhtar was marked absent, despite having been transferred over two years ago to serve as Medical Superintendent at District Hospital Anantnag,” it said.
DAK stated that Shahid, a staff member, who passed away two years ago, was incorrectly listed as absent. It further said Dr. Bilal, who had been terminated two years ago, was also mistakenly included in the absentee list.
“These inaccuracies reflect a lack of proper verification and diligence in compiling the attendance records,” it said. DAK appealed district administration Shopian to review its assessment methods and rectify inaccuracies in the report.
“The authorities should engage with relevant medical officers, such as Medical Superintendent or Chief Medical Officer, before issuing public statements,” it stated.
DAK stated that as per Civil Services Regulations (CSR), only appointing authority has the power to suspend an employee, except in disaster situations. “It is vital that actions are taken in a fair and transparent manner.”
On Wednesday, ADC Shopian inspected the hospital and later stated in a report that out of 198 employees, only 17 were present while 181 were found absent without authorization.
