Doctor with 108 services turns out to be nurse
Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com
Chennai:14.01.2019
The company which operates the 108 emergency medical services hotline in Tamil Nadu, GVK EMRI, has filed a complaint with the Teynampet police alleging that one of the 30 doctors on its rolls in the East Coast Road (ECR) area in Chennai is a quack.
Selvakumar, state head officer of GVK EMRI, on Sunday told TOI that the complaint was filed on Saturday evening by the HR head Ashok and that a detailed inquiry would be conducted by the police as well as the company. He claimed the false certificates came up during a verification drive.
The ‘doctor’ Rachael Jennifer, 30, is actually a nursing graduate, but was working as a doctor in the emergency services for the past one year. In her resume, she claims to have completed an MBBS degree from Kuppam medical college, which is affiliated to the Dr NTR University of health sciences in Andhra Pradesh.
TOI has accessed case sheets where she has signed as the emergency care centre (ECC) physician, who is the first point of contact for patients who avail themselves of the emergency services.
Rachael was part of a team at a location where the ECC would attend on a number of accident cases on the ECR.
She did not respond to a call asking for comment.
When asked how they stumbled upon this issue now when Rachael had been working for 11 months, Selvakumar said the matter came to light when the incriminating documents were leaked to Chennai-based activists by someone within GVK EMRI.
The 108 emergency ambulance services comes under the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) of the state government.
Project director for TNHSP, Uma Maheshwari told TOI that they had issued a notice to the company asking for an explanation. “There are 35 medical practitioners employed by GVK across the state. Based on preliminary inquiries, it was found that in this case, forged documents were given by the medical officer (Rachael) during recruitment,” she said.
Others have been screened again after this issue broke out, she said.
The issue was brought to the notice of health ministry, police and GVK by P Balaji, a Chennaibased RTI activist, who is now practising as an advocate with the Madras High Court.
In a complaint to the health secretary J Radhakrishnan, Balaji alleges that after he raised the issue, Selvakumar called him and requested to ‘solve the matter smoothly’.
“I strongly suspect that this foul play will be covered up. I urge you to pursue this and take strong action against GVK-EMRI,” Balaji said.
Selvakumar denied the allegations stating that he had called Balaji to his office to brief him. “We ourselves informed the media after filing the complaint,” he said.
Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com
Chennai:14.01.2019
The company which operates the 108 emergency medical services hotline in Tamil Nadu, GVK EMRI, has filed a complaint with the Teynampet police alleging that one of the 30 doctors on its rolls in the East Coast Road (ECR) area in Chennai is a quack.
Selvakumar, state head officer of GVK EMRI, on Sunday told TOI that the complaint was filed on Saturday evening by the HR head Ashok and that a detailed inquiry would be conducted by the police as well as the company. He claimed the false certificates came up during a verification drive.
The ‘doctor’ Rachael Jennifer, 30, is actually a nursing graduate, but was working as a doctor in the emergency services for the past one year. In her resume, she claims to have completed an MBBS degree from Kuppam medical college, which is affiliated to the Dr NTR University of health sciences in Andhra Pradesh.
TOI has accessed case sheets where she has signed as the emergency care centre (ECC) physician, who is the first point of contact for patients who avail themselves of the emergency services.
Rachael was part of a team at a location where the ECC would attend on a number of accident cases on the ECR.
She did not respond to a call asking for comment.
When asked how they stumbled upon this issue now when Rachael had been working for 11 months, Selvakumar said the matter came to light when the incriminating documents were leaked to Chennai-based activists by someone within GVK EMRI.
The 108 emergency ambulance services comes under the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) of the state government.
Project director for TNHSP, Uma Maheshwari told TOI that they had issued a notice to the company asking for an explanation. “There are 35 medical practitioners employed by GVK across the state. Based on preliminary inquiries, it was found that in this case, forged documents were given by the medical officer (Rachael) during recruitment,” she said.
Others have been screened again after this issue broke out, she said.
The issue was brought to the notice of health ministry, police and GVK by P Balaji, a Chennaibased RTI activist, who is now practising as an advocate with the Madras High Court.
In a complaint to the health secretary J Radhakrishnan, Balaji alleges that after he raised the issue, Selvakumar called him and requested to ‘solve the matter smoothly’.
“I strongly suspect that this foul play will be covered up. I urge you to pursue this and take strong action against GVK-EMRI,” Balaji said.
Selvakumar denied the allegations stating that he had called Balaji to his office to brief him. “We ourselves informed the media after filing the complaint,” he said.
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