'Vacant office superintendent posts stalling administrative works in health department'

TIRUNELVELI: Owing to vacant office superintendent (OS) posts various routine activities at health institutions have been stalled, said administrative staff in the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) and Directorate of Medical Education (DME) on Friday.

Speaking to TNIE, the staff said the affected works include timely procurement of medicines, preparation of proposals for medical equipment, filing of responses to Right to Information petitions, and maintenance of medical records, among other works.

"There is a shortage of office superintendents in the administrative offices of government hospitals, medical college hospitals, ESI hospitals, and the leprosy wing. Some medical colleges that require at least eight OSs are operating with just one officer. Existing OSs across the state are overworked. All directorates of the health department have more than 400 OS posts lying vacant," said R Kalamohan, President of the Tamil Nadu Medical Department Direct Assistant Association.

When contacted by TNIE, a senior official of the department on the condition of anonymity said the OS posts were lying vacant due to a pending court case. "The Assistants, who were directly recruited via group 2 examination and also those who were promoted from the post of Junior Assistants, are eligible to be promoted as OS. However, both these groups have a dispute over who should be listed first in the seniority list for OS promotion. The vacancies will be filled as soon as the court delivers a verdict," the official added.

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