NMC doctor suspended for private practice, dereliction of duty

Nagpur: Municipal commissioner Radhakrishnan B has suspended medical officer (gynaecologist and obstetrician) of Laxmi Nagar zone, Dr Vaishali Mohokar, after receiving complaints that she was running a private hospital and was guilty of dereliction of duty.
She draws over Rs1.5 lakh per month salary from the civic body. Interestingly, the civic body has allowed her hospital to run as Covid care facility.
“Disciplinary action has been taken as per rule 10 of Maharashtra Civil Service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1979,” said a senior NMC official.
Dr Mohokar has been immediately suspended till further orders. The order, signed by the general administration department’s office superintendent Madan Subhedar, was passed on May 17, 2021.
As per the order, Dr Mohokar has been asked to report at the health department (medical) headquarters in Civil Lines. She cannot leave the headquarters without the prior permission of medical health officer, Dr Sanjay Chilkar. She will not be allowed to do any private or semi-government job or any private business during the period of implementation of the order.
Sources said though Dr Mohokar had been working with the NMC since over a decade, she was also practising in Mure Memorial Hospital, Diagnosis Centre in Mahal and used to run her own private hospital.
Sources pointed out that besides salary, Dr Mohokar availed of all perks including free vehicle service provided by the civic body. Yet, she devoted full-time practising in private hospitals, the sources alleged.
Radhakrishnan B said, “From conducting RT-PCR tests to attending to Covid-19 patients, Dr Mohokar was not at all serious in discharging her duties. At the same time, she was doing other private work.”
Recently, Dr Chilkar had issued notices to Dr Praveen Gantawar and several other medical officers, who were on long leave, to return to work within 24 hours. A month has elapsed since the notice was issued but Dr Gantawar is yet to resume duty.