‘Sick’ doctor turns down Amarnath posting, govt sets up medical panel

The director general of health services, Haryana, has ordered the constitution of a second medical board to verify the claims of a doctor who had turned down his deputation to Amarnath, claiming that he was suffering from slipped disc. Himabindu Reddy reports.

The director general of health services, Haryana, has ordered the constitution of a second medical board to verify the claims of a doctor who had turned down his deputation to Amarnath, claiming that he was suffering from slipped disc.

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The senior practitioner of the Gurgaon Civil Hospital was to be on a one-month deputation at the holy shrine beginning Monday.

According to director general of health services Narendra Arora, the said doctor’s condition was certified by a four-member medical board, comprising the principal medical officer and orthopedic surgeons, which said that the doctor was suffering from slipped disc for the past six months and that he needed 10 days’ rest.

The board had also said that the doctor was medically unfit to perform his duties in a hilly area like Amarnath.
“But the circumstances under which the medical certificate was produced seems suspicious. As soon as he was asked to go to Amarnath, the doctor produced a certificate that doesn’t allow him to go there,” said Arora.

“The genuineness of the doctor’s health condition and claims has to be verified. If it turns out to be true, we will not force him to go to Amarnath,” said Arora.

The deputation was made on the basis of a Supreme Court directive saying that every state has to contribute to ensure a hassle-free Amarnath Yatra that is likely to begin from June 28. For this, 16 doctors from Haryana have been assigned a one-month-long deputation at Amarnath. The doctors will be going on duty in two phases starting Monday.