Sambalpur, July 2: Vigilance officials today conducted a surprise raid at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at Burla (Vimsar) and found 11 doctors missing from duty.

The first-of-its-kind raid at the premier hospital was conducted by 27 vigilance officials divided into five teams. The team conducted raids on several departments and found nine doctors absent without leave application. They also found two doctors engaged in an operation at a private nursing home during their duty hours.

The doctors who were found absent without leave application are M.S. Dora and G.B. Patra of orthopaedic department, Rabi Narayana Panda and S.S. Panda of neurosurgery department, B.N. Mallick of surgery department, C.R. Acharya of ENT department, and Tushar Kar, C. Majhi and K.C. Mohapatra of the obstetrics and gynaecology department.

Orthopaedic surgeon Amrut Mohanty and Rajkumar Pattnaik of the department of surgery were found operating on patients at a private Nursing Home in Burla.

"A detailed report will be prepared and sent to the director vigilance for necessary action against the erring doctors," said deputy superintendent of police, Sambalpur vigilance division, R.K. Pradhan.

A senior official of the hospital, who did not want to be named, welcomed the raid and said it would help infuse a sense of discipline among doctors who were not taking their work seriously.

Absence of doctors has hit government hospitals in several parts of the state. The phenomenon is more pronounced in the backward districts of south and west Odisha where poor people have been returning disappointed from hospitals.