Jadcherla mortuary incident: Doctors’ associations oppose suspension, seek systemic reforms

Hyderabad: The medical fraternity in Telangana on Wednesday condemned the suspension of doctors over a dog mauling a dead body inside the mortuary of a govt hospital in Jadcherla.The associations attributed the incident to systemic failures and called for urgent reforms.
A day earlier, the govt suspended three officials — the hospital superintendent, the resident medical officer (RMO), and the mortuary nursing officer — while the duty doctor was served a show-cause notice.In a statement, the Telangana Govt Doctors Association (TGGDA) claimed that the hospital authorities had long been requesting essential mortuary equipment (such as freezers) from the Telangana State Medical Services Infrastructure Development Corporation (TGSMIDC), some of which are yet to be supplied.In a separate statement, the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) said that the new mortuary building constructed on the hospital's new premises had not yet been made operational, reportedly because it was being used by contractors carrying out work related to the Trauma Care Centre. Furthermore, it stated that the maintenance and security of mortuary facilities did not fall under the purview of doctors, but rather health supervisors and other support staff.Demanding the immediate revocation of the suspensions, the associations called for an inquiry into the incident and the strengthening of mortuary infrastructure. They also sought the scrapping of the centralised procurement model, the delegation of purchasing powers to the Heads of department (HODs) in a health department, and the introduction of a fast-track decentralised system."Failure to supply essential equipment, even for basic facilities such as a mortuary, reflects a serious administrative lapse. When hospitals do not receive critical equipment on time, who is accountable? Hospitals can deliver quality services only when essential equipment is supplied promptly. Doctors should not be made scapegoats; rather, the system must be corrected," said a member of the association.- MSID:: 129028336 413 |Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Holi wishes, messages and quotes !