HC expresses concern over doctors doing administrative work

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has expressed serious concern regarding entrusting administrative work to doctors in a routine manner in Uttar Pradesh, instead of posting them in hospitals.

The court said administrative work might be important but the appointments of doctors were essentially for taking care of patients and therefore, they could not be deprived of their basic work.

Considering the plea of a doctor, who was assigned administrative work instead of clinical work, a division bench of justices Devendra Kumar Arora and Virendra Kumar II observed that when a physician or surgeon was given administrative work, he tended to lose his skill.

The observation came recently on a writ petition filed by Dr Sunil Kumar, Additional Director, Administration, who is posted in the Medical and Health Services Department.

The petitioner had demanded from his department that he be posted for clinical work. As his plea was not heard by the state government, the petitioner had approached the court.

The bench observed that doctors were being denied voluntary retirement on account of a scarcity of medical practitioners, but on the other hand, instead of being posted in hospitals, they were being asked to perform administrative work.

Posting the matter on May 3, the bench asked the government to explain as to why the petitioner was not being posted for clinical work, despite his request in this regard.