Doctor suspended for using artificial thumb for attendance in AP

BAPATLA: Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Vidadala Rajani suspended a government doctor on the spot in Bapatla district after he was found to be using an artificial thumb for his attendance at work.

The shocking revelation came to the fore during the Minister's surprise check at the Guntupalli Primary Health Centre in Balli Kurava mandal of Bapatla district in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday. Rajani, who noticed the absence of Bhanu Prakash, the doctor at the PHC, was stung by the shocking information provided by the villagers.

According to the villagers, Bhanu Prakash spends all his time at his private clinic in Marturu while skipping his official duties in Guntupalli. In his greed to manage things at both the places, he misused technology to come up with an artificial thumb. With the help of the PHC staff and using the fake thumb, he has been ensuring his attendance at the workplace, leaving all the patients from the village high and dry.

The helpless villagers, who had been watching the doctor's antics in silence, however poured out with their woes when Health Minister Vidadala Rajani visited the PHC on a surprise inspection.

The villagers also complained to the Minister that the doctor, whenever he visited the PHC, used to drink right inside the health centre. He is also accused of misbehaving with the women staff at the PHC.

Infuriated by the doctor's malpractice, Rajani ordered his suspension on the spot and directed the officials to initiate departmental action against the errant medical practitioner.