J&K GMC doctors who unauthorizedly overstayed repatriation to be posted in hospitals

Srinagar, May 19: Doctors repatriated from Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) in Jammu and Kashmir, who overstayed their deputation without official approval, will now be posted in various hospitals across the Union Territory, officials have said.
On April 22, the Jammu and Kashmir Government ordered the repatriation of influential medical officers who had overstayed their deputation at Government Medical Colleges (GMC) in Jammu and Srinagar, holding unauthorized and comfortable postings.
After the issuance of the order, a debate emerged over whether the doctors would actually be repatriated to hospitals, as they had previously disregarded a similar directive.
Officials of GMC Srinagar and Jammu have demanded strict implementation of orders of Health Department on repatriation of doctors who don’t possess super specialization and had been continuing their postings unauthorizedly.
“Many such orders have been issued by the previous administrators but those were hardly implemented on ground and doctors were not sent back to the hospitals or the parent departments where they were supposed to work for patient care services,” said an official.
He said that the medical officers, including both the medical officers and consultants who enjoy comfortable postings, are highly influential and rarely repatriated.
In November 2023, the then administrator of GMC Srinagar had written to H&ME to repatriate the medical officers who enjoy perks at par with the Govt. Medical College Srinagar staff and stayed in the associated hospitals for a pretty long time.
“These medical officers keep on creating hurdles in the smooth functioning of the administrative setup on flimsy grounds,” the communication had then mentioned.
The GMC had then suggested to replace these medical officers with a new lot of medical officers from Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir and the new lot be allowed to work in these associated hospitals under standard terms and conditions as per deputation rules.
The fresh demands of the officials correlate with what was suggested previously. They said there are even medical officers who have been overstaying for a very long time.
“Some are holding positions in the administration and have developed vested interests, and they are from the clinical side, which is negatively affecting patient care,” they said.
The new order has come at a time when the J&K Hospitals are facing shortage of specialist and super specialist doctors and the government also wants hassle free patient care.
The fresh order mentions that the repatriated doctors were continuing on deputation or tenure postings in GMC Jammu and Srinagar, beyond the maximum prescribed period—04 years for deputation and 03 years for tenure postings—without authorization.
The said doctors as officials state have reported back to their respective Directorates, namely the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu, and the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir and are waiting for posting, a process that has been started by H&ME.
A senior official of the Health and Medical Education Department said the repatriated doctors will soon be posted back to hospitals to strengthen patient care services.
“They have been stationed at the GMCs for a long time. Unauthorized absence will not be tolerated. They will be sent back to the Health Department,” the official asserted.
He added that the postings are currently being finalized, and the process is underway, with the final list expected to be released soon.
The Health Department has issued a stern warning, stating that any non-compliance with the repatriation order will lead to disciplinary proceedings against the delinquent doctors. The concerned Directorates have been directed to report such cases without delay.