Maharashtra – Doctor suspended for not taking Ministers Call

Yavatmal:

A junior resident doctor at Yavatmal Government Medical College and Hospital has been suspended for not taking the call of guardian minister Sanjay Rathod while on duty in the casualty ward. Memos have also been issued to three nurses, reports T O Abraham.

According to sources, Dr Achyut Narote was attending to patients on Monday evening when an elderly man brought his son, who had reportedly consumed poison. When the doctor asked him to wait, the man called a ‘bhau’ (brother in Marathi) and asked the doctor to talk to the person. Not knowing who was on the phone, the doctor said he would talk only after 10 minutes or the ‘bhau’ should come to the hospital.

Resident doctors’ body threatens agitation

The ‘bhau’ on phone, forest minister Rathod, apparently overheard the conversation. He then contacted Dr Kamble demanding action against the junior doctor. Dr Kamble immediately suspended the doctor for eight days starting from Tuesday.

GMCH in-charge dean Dr Milind Kamble issued the suspension order charging the doctor with showing disrespect to people’s representative.

Speaking to TOI on Thursday, Dr Kamble said he has suspended Dr Narote after verifying what had happened. He also informed that show cause memos have been served on two male nurses and a woman nurse who were on duty when the incident took place.

“The three were issued show cause notices for not attending call of the minister when doctor was busy,” said Dr Kamble.

On Thursday, a delegation of resident doctors met the dean and requested him to revoke Dr Narote’s suspension. After the meeting, Dr Kamble announced a three-member committee, under chairmanship of Dr Surendra Gawarle, HoD of ENT department, to probe the matter and submit a report in two days.

Meanwhile, local unit of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) has threatened to launch an agitation if the doctor’s suspension was not revoked.

Rathod admitted to having asked the dean to take action against Dr Narote. Rathod said a person from his constituency called to complain about the doctor not attending to his son. “When the father wanted Dr Narote to speak to me, he not only refused to talk but also ‘insulted’ the elderly person,” said Rathod.