Doctors protest in Telangana after Nalgonda collector orders hospital inspection by district officials

On 25 June, the District Collector issued an order naming 45 district officers who would inspect the GGH and MCH hospitals daily from 27 June to 21 August.

However, the order and the inspection, the first of which was held on Thursday, did not sit well with the doctors and staff. They staged a protest outside the hospital after seeing the order.

Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA) General Secretary Dr Kiran Madala told South First that the protest was conducted to uphold the trust and self-respect of the doctors.

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The issue

According to the doctors, the order issued by the collector assigning officials from another department to conduct daily inspections at the Nalgonda Government Medical College Hospital and submitting reports on the same was unreasonable and irrelevant.

They said the orders appeared to question the ethics of the medical staff and could damage their morale.

“It is very deplorable that officers from other departments are tasked with monitoring and reporting on an emergency department,” said the doctors,

“We strongly condemn this matter and demand that the collector withdraw these orders immediately. We request the Minister for Health and the government to ensure that such things do not happen again,” TTGDA said in a statement.

In 2018, the Health Department issued a memo saying only officers with the rank of joint collectors and above could inspect the health premises and check the records.

However, it mentioned that in special cases of emergencies, functionaries below the rank of joint collector could conduct inspections and check the records under the written instruction of the district collector.

“The overenthusiasm of the collector, disregarding all rules, seems like a dictatorship. The collector should at least have basic knowledge of the cadre positions of tertiary care teaching hospital faculty. It appears that the collector is treating the teaching hospital like a gram panchayat, as they recently appointed officers in charge of each village when the sarpanches’ terms ended. The collector needs to move beyond that level of thinking,” said a doctor.

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The question of self-respect

Dr Madala said that the main issue arises from the collector’s decision to implement a roster system, assigning officers to monitor the hospital daily from morning to evening.

“This undermines the existing roles of the principal and superintendent, as well as the doctors. The collector can visit any time, so appointing these officers is unnecessary and an insult to the hospital’s leadership and staff,” said Dr Madala.

He said that the hospital already has a robust monitoring system in place: Biometric attendance, oversight by the National Medical Commission (NMC), and performance reviews by the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), the Health Secretary, and the Health Minister.

“Despite infrastructural challenges like inadequate bathrooms, rooms, and chairs, our doctors are performing exceptionally well. In the past two years, 17 new colleges have been established successfully, surpassing older institutions in several performance metrics,” he added.

“However, our doctors face unresolved issues such as a lack of general transfers for 11 years, no extra allowances, and pay scales equivalent to those of other degree college lecturers. Pay disparities between Hyderabad and other areas also exist. Despite these frustrations, our doctors continue to excel. The incident in Nalgonda where the doctors are now protesting is a spark of this accumulated frustration,” Dr Madala said.

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To protest until the revocation of the order

He said that starting Friday, they have asked staff of all colleges to wear black badges while working in solidarity with the Nalgonda doctors.

“Our protest will continue until the district collector’s order is revoked,” said Dr Madala.

He added their concerns, such as their transfers and medical allowances were also unresolved.

“If these are not addressed, we will have no other option but to escalate our protests. Although the current protest is not directly related to these issues, it highlights the need for their resolution. Addressing these long-term issues would help rebuild trust among doctors and ensure their support for any future reforms,” he said.

“Gaining the trust of doctors is crucial. Doctors will be more receptive to all future reforms if the government resolves these pending issues. The current situation in Nalgonda is a spark that could ignite a larger outburst of frustration,” said Dr Madala.

“The immediate issue is the Nalgonda incident. We will end our protest if the order is revoked today (Thursday). However, multiple underlying issues are exacerbating the distress caused by the collector’s order. It is a matter of trust and self-respect for the doctors,” he added.

He said they were already under extensive monitoring.

“Creating an additional, unnecessary system only adds to our distress. No medical policies in India, including those from the NMC, mandate such measures. This unique and excessive oversight is unwarranted,” said Dr Madala.

(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)