VIJAYAWADA: The Health Department has initiated stringent disciplinary action against 43 Civil Assistant Surgeons (CAS) for prolonged, unauthorised absence from their duties.
Health Minister Y Satya Kumar Yadav announced that these doctors, some of whom have been absent for up to four years, will be permanently dismissed from service after failing to respond to official show-cause notices and formal charges.
He emphasised that the government will not tolerate medical professionals who compromise public healthcare services by staying away from their designated posts without authorisation.
This major crackdown follows a similar enforcement drive last month under the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), which resulted in the removal of 51 doctors from various teaching hospitals across the state.
The current disciplinary process, targeting specialists in General Medicine, Orthopaedics, Gynaecology, and other wings, is being executed in the final stages under the Directorate of Secondary Health.
According to departmental records, a total of 118 permanent government doctors were identified as being unauthorizedly absent from duty. Under existing state service rules, any government doctor absent without official approval for over a year is liable for termination.
The department has initiated formal action based on these guidelines, starting with the permanent removal process for the 43 non-responsive doctors.
Apart from these dismissals, another 34 doctors tendered their resignations after show-cause notices were issued and charges were framed. The government is set to approve the resignations of 15 of these medical professionals.
However, because the remaining 19 doctors submitted their resignations after formal charges had already been filed, the department has invoked the AP Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal) Rules, 1991, appointing 11 district-level inquiry officers to investigate their conduct.
Director of Secondary Health, Chakradhar Babu, clarified that further actions will be determined based on the explanations requested from these doctors and the subsequent reports submitted by the inquiry officers.
Additionally, another 19 doctors responded to their notices by stating that personal reasons had prevented them from attending duty, a claim that will now face an inquiry. Meanwhile, 9 Civil Assistant Surgeons have reported back to duty following issuance of the notices, and the requests of 13 other doctors are under review by the government.