MYSURU: The tiff between a government servant and a people’s representative has gone in favour of the former after the Health department ruled that Dr Veena Singh was not wrong when she refused to visit Janata Dal (Secular) MLA Mahadev at his home to treat him on the night of September 18. Department director S Pushparaj told Express that the department will not take any action against Dr Veena, for “she has not made any mistake”.
“Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey decided at a meeting held in Mysuru on Friday that she would not be transferred either,” he said. The doctor also attended the meeting.Dr Veena Singh was served a show-cause notice after she refused to go to the MLA’s house, stating that she was busy at the hospital. She is a gynaecologist at Periyapatna Taluk Hospital.Mahadev had complained to the privilege committee that the case be investigated and action initiated against the doctor for “not visiting the house of a sick legislator just 100 metres from the government hospital”.
The legislator’s BP and sugar levels are said to have dropped, as a result of which he “collapsed” while listening to grievances of the public in the panchayat office. He was rushed to his house from there but “felt weak and could not even eat food”. His wife and son summoned an autorickshaw and asked the driver to bring the doctor home to attend to the “emergency”, but the doctor refused to comply.
In her response, Dr Veena clarified that she was not able to call on the MLA as she was treating a delivery patient, who she could not leave because the mother to-be had gone into labour. Also, she was treating victims of accidents. Still, the authorities served her the show-cause notice over the incident. Not in a position to leave the hospital that night as she was the only doctor on duty, Dr Veena refused to go to the MLA’s house. The MLA was then taken to a private practitioner. Mahadev went to the hospital the following day where he is said to have pulled up the doctor.
Secretary of Indian Medical Association S P Yoganna also defended Dr Veena to say that the practise has always been for a patient to go to a doctor. “The doctor going to a patient’s house is not convention,” he said.IMA state president Dr H N Ravindra said, “It is a case of abuse of power on the part of the MLA because it’s not her job to treat him at his house.”