Show cause notice issued to 115 government doctors in Telangana for unauthorised absence

The Telangana Director of Medical Education (DME) has issued show cause notices to 115 doctors working in government medical colleges and hospitals across the State for prolonged unauthorised absence. 

Speaking to The Hindu, DME A. Narendra Kumar said the notices were issued to doctors who had remained away from duty without authorisation for varying periods. Following the issuance of notices, a meeting was convened to assess their responses and willingness to continue in government service.

According to him, 20 doctors responded to the show cause notices and have since rejoined duty after expressing their willingness to continue in service. One doctor is currently pursuing an MCh course in Urology and will be absorbed back into service after completing the programme. This brings the number of doctors who have either rejoined or will rejoin service to 21.

The remaining 94 doctors did not attend the meeting or respond within the stipulated period. “However, a decision has been taken to give them another opportunity to respond to the show cause notice, as some may not have turned up due to various reasons, including being stationed outside their place of posting,” Mr. Kumar added.

Among those 94 doctors were doctors who had remained absent since different years, including from 2013 to 2024. In six cases, the doctors concerned had not joined duty at all after being appointed, the order said.

The doctors included assistant professors and associate professors from a wide range of departments, such as Obstetrics and Gynaecology, General Medicine, General Surgery, Anaesthesiology, Paediatrics, Radiology, Orthopaedics, Neurology, Urology, Cardiology, Pathology, Community Medicine, ENT, Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Pharmacology, Hospital Administration and Physiology.

They were posted at several government medical colleges and hospitals across the State, including Osmania Medical College, Gandhi Medical College, Niloufer Hospital, MGM Hospital, Warangal, and government medical colleges located in Sangareddy, Nalgonda, Karimnagar, Khammam, Ramagundam, Hanumakonda, Siddipet, Mahabubabad, Nizamabad, Jangaon, Bhadradri Kothagudem, Asifabad and other districts.

According to the orders, show-cause notices had been issued earlier, granting the doctors 15 days to explain why their services should not be terminated or why they should not be removed from government service from the date of unauthorised absence. After examining the replies, the competent authority concluded that the explanations were not satisfactory.

The DME has directed the heads of the respective institutions to communicate the termination orders to the doctors concerned at their permanent addresses and ensure compliance with the instructions.