Ajay Sharma
Rajouri, June 19:
Despite transfer policies and standing directives from the government, alleged long-term overstay and attachments have been plaguing health department in Rajouri.
According to insiders, a number of junior and senior staff members continue to serve at the District Hospital for long and extended periods from 15 to 20 years, while some employees allegedly avoid joining their new places of posting to peripheral and under-staffed area after transfers. Instead, they are reportedly obtaining attachments and continuing to work at their preferred locations.
“Verbal attachment orders have become common in the district, resulting in situations where employees are posted at one location, draw salaries from another, and perform duties elsewhere,” said sources, adding that such practices have contributed to staff shortages at peripheral health institutions, affecting healthcare services and causing inconvenience to the public.
They have also alleged that the implementation of the transfer policy within the department is also dubious.
“Why some employees have remained stationed at the same facility for decades while others are transferred regularly,” said sources, adding that all the responsibility lies on the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Rajouri, who has to ensure the proper deployment of staff across healthcare institutions in the district.
Similar concerns have reportedly been raised regarding employee attachments at the CMO office and other health institutions, including the Sub-District Hospital, Sunderbani.
Despite repeated attempts, CMO and other officers of the health department could not be contacted.
