Key posts at govt. medical institutions across T.N. vacant or held by personnel given additional-charge, say doctors

Several key positions at government medical institutions across Tamil Nadu remain vacant or are occupied by personnel assigned to additional-charge duties, which is hindering administrative operations and adversely impacting patient care decisions, according to government doctors. Vacant or additional-charge positions include the directors of various departments, such as internal medicine, orthopaedics, general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, surgical gastroenterology, and pediatrics at multiple hospitals.

Additionally, the director of the Institute of Child Health and the Hospital for Children, Egmore, has been filled through an additional-charge arrangement for over a year. The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DME), which manages government medical college hospitals statewide, is also currently held on an additional-charge basis.

A senior doctor highlighted that the DME, overseeing 38 medical colleges and affiliated institutions, remains unfilled despite the increasing number of undergraduate, postgraduate, and allied health science seats and government schemes. This trend, present under previous administrations, continues under the current government. The doctor argued that prepared panels of eligible candidates should assume charge upon incumbents' retirements, rather than relying on additional-charge arrangements, which weaken the post's authority and effectiveness.

A separate doctor noted that delayed promotions resulting from these arrangements could negatively affect professor and associate professor appointments, as well as payband-4 compression. The directorate is reportedly working to fill these positions, with no specific timeline provided.