Early Times Report
srinagar, Apr 1: After this newspaper reported on Wednesday how doctors at Srinagar's Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) were brazenly violating official ban on their private practice, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has issued clear-cut directions for strictly implementing the ban.
"SKIMS doctors have to choose either between keeping their job or private practice, and any violation of the directions will be viewed seriously," Mufti, according to an official spokesman, issued these instructions while chairing the Governing Body meeting of SKIMS here on Wednesday.
Minister for Finance, Dr. Haseeb A. Drabu, Minister for Health & Medical Education, Ch. Lal Singh, Minister of State for H&ME, Asiya Naqash, Chief Secretary, Iqbal Khanday, Principal Secretary, Planning & Development, B. R. Sharma, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas, Commissioner/Secretary. H&ME, Shantmanu, Director SKIMS, Dr. Shaukat Zargar, and other members of the Governing Body attended the meeting.
"Emphasizing the need to strictly monitor the ban on private practice of SKIMS doctors, Mufti asked the management to bring the institute at par with the quality provided by AIIMS in New Delhi," the spokesman said.
Mufti said the quality of services at the institute has to improve so that people don't have to go for referrals to New Delhi, Chandigarh or any other place outside the state for advanced treatment.
It may be mentioned that on Wednesday, the Early Times reported that many senior doctors from the SKIMS operate brazenly in their private clinics. A couple of them were caught red-handed by sleuths of the Vigilance some years ago. That did not, however, stop other doctors from continuing their illegal practice.
In fact, if SKIMS insiders are to be believed, nearly two dozen prominent doctors indulge in private practice. They include doctor who examines more than 100 patients at his residence-cum-clinic in Hyderpora area of the city every evening andon Sunday.
To avoid any trouble, most of the doctors violating the ban on their private practice write prescription on plain papers that do not carry their names and other details. Also, in some cases, a chemist located outside the doctors' home collects the fee.
In 2011, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's office constituted a so-called special squad to keep an eye on some SKIMS doctors suspected of indulging in private practice. The squad included SKIMS's Joint Director and officials from Vigilance Organisation and other government departments as well.
The squad was specifically tasked to launch frequent raids on suspected clinics and act on the complaints against any doctor. A couple of clinics were raided and the doctors found busy in private practice were booked by the Vigilance. The raids were, however, soon abandoned for unknown reasons. |
