Srinagar: In an embarrassing blooper, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian have included a deceased paramedical staff member, a doctor transferred two years ago and another doctor terminated by the government, in the list of employees found “absent” during a surprise visit to the district hospital by a top official. Three employees grieving over the death of their dear ones have also been included in the list.
The major blunder has led to an uproar and protests by the employees and a local doctors' body.
The DM Shopian Shahid Saleem on Wednesday took to Facebook saying that the ADC Shopian had found 181 of the 198 employees posted at District Hospital Shopian absent during his visit to the hospital. Saleem also shared the order issued by him asking the “absent” employees to show cause over the “irregular attendance” within three days failing which action under law would be taken against them besides warning them over deduction of day's salary for the “unauthorized absence” from duties.
"10.00 AM to 4.30 PM is the time we are paid for. Those who fail to abide, will face action under Rules," Saleem captioned the post on his official page.
In the order, the DM asked the Medical Superintendent of the Hospital to call an explanation of all the listed absentee employees for “negligence, delinquency, callous attitude, irresponsible behavior on their part, which is unbecoming of a public servant, under relevant provisions of J&K CSRs”.
Doctors' Association Fumes Over Inaccuracies In DM's Order
In response to the DM's action, the employees accused of absenteeism on Thursday held a protest against the district administration while a doctors body, which was in hibernation until now, has issued a statement condemning the action and explaining the operational mechanism of the hospitals to the administration.
Among the employees shown absent on Wednesday, one has died two years ago, while another was terminated by the LG administration even as a third employee has been transferred two years ago, the Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) claimed.
"Dr Mukhtar has been marked absent (in the DM's order), despite having been transferred over two years ago to serve as the Medical Superintendent at District Hospital Anantnag. Mr. Shahid, a young staff member who passed away two years ago, was incorrectly listed as absent. Additionally, Dr. Bilal, who had been terminated two years ago, was also mistakenly included on the absentee list," Dr. M.Y. Tak President, Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) said.
Sources said that the list also includes three employees who recently lost their loved ones; two among them lost father and one uncle.
"These inaccuracies reflect a lack of proper verification and diligence in compiling the attendance records," Dr Tak said, adding the report “misrepresented the operational reality of hospitals”.
"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. The biometric data recorded at 10:10 AM, 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," he said.
The DAK called on the district administration to review its assessment methods and rectify the inaccuracies in the report.
"Such misrepresentations could erode public faith in healthcare institutions and disrupt the essential doctor-patient relationship," he said.
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