Patna, March 1: The district health administration has decided to crackdown on government hospital doctors, against whom, complaints of shirking duty are common.

The medics and employees of the government hospitals were instructed to report for work on time, failing which their salaries would be stopped from March and departmental action initiated against them.

A source in the office of the civil surgeon said officials have often received complaints against medics not reporting for duty at primary health centres and additional health sub-centres.

“The situation at Patna Sadar, Danapur Sadar and Barh Sadar hospitals is particularly bad. Even the outpatients’ departments at these hospitals have not been working. A large number of patients return disappointed from the hospitals every day,” said an official.

“The civil surgeon had been asking the doctors to attend the patients for the past several months. But the situation did not improve. The officials have now issued a notification that if the doctors, nurses and other employees do not report to work and their attendance was not up to mark, their salaries will be stopped. The department will also initiate action against them. They could also be suspended,” the official said.

Unavailability of doctors at primary health centres often means that patients who cannot afford treatment by private doctors flock to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) and Nalanda Medical College and Hospital in the capital.

Patients greeted the move of the district administration.

Mansukh Paswan, a patient who had come to PMCH as there was no one to attend to him at the Patna Sadar hospital, said: “The doctors often neglect poor patients at the health centres because they concentrate on their private practices. We have to come all the way to Patna for every thing.

“The move will hopefully improve the conditions of the sadar hospitals,” added Paswan.

Officials of the health department said that as sadar hospitals in Patna, Danapur and Barh were not running smoothly due to the gross negligence of the employees, they had been temporarily shifted to some rural centres. “Patna Sadar is operated, at present, from Sambhalpur diara area as no medicos or medical employees were going to the hospital. Similarly, the Danapur and Barh centres have been operating from Khagaul and Narayanpur centres respectively. However, these centres will be shifted back to the original places once the employees start coming to work regularly,” said the official.

Health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said the government would improve the primary health centres and government hospitals to reduce the burden on PMCH.