2 junior doctors get show-cause notice for skipping Covid-19 duties in Amritsar
Government Medical College principal had assigned the two doctors work at the viral research lab but they did not show up; asked to reply to Punjab govt in 48 hours
AMRITSAR: The state medical education and research department on Wednesday issued show-cause notice to two junior doctors of Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, for not reporting on duty at the college’s Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL), where samples of Covid-19 suspected patients are being tested daily.
The notice has been served to Dr Vasudha and Dr Prabhsimran Kaur, who were assigned the duty by college principal Dr Sujata Sharma on March 31. They were asked to monitor the data of the samples being tested at VRDL.
The notice reads, “Since the Covid-19 is a pandemic disease and a large number of samples of suspected patients are being sent to VRDL, Amritsar, being run under the microbiology department of the college, for testing and there is a staff shortage at the lab, two junior doctors, Dr Vasudha and Dr Prabhsimran Kaur, were directed to join the lab for helping the senior doctors in monitoring the data. The senior doctors had also sent a notice to them to join duty but they remained absent even in a Covid-19 related emergency medical situation.”
ACTION FOR VIOLATING ICMR GUIDELINES
“The doctors have violated Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines. We may cancel the post-graduation degrees of both the doctors under the Epidemic Disease Act and Disaster Management Act or we may put restrictions on the doctors for doing any medical course for next three years,” the notice said.
Dr Avneesh Kumar, director, medical education and research department of the state, said: “We have got information from the hospital that the doctors were assigned Covid-19 related duties but they haven’t performed them. Dr Vasudha and Dr Prabhsimran Kaur are directed to submit their replies to the Punjab government within 48 hours.”
When contacted, principal Dr Sujata Sharma said, “The notice has been served but this is an institutional matter and I won’t comment on it.”
The two doctors were also not available for comment.