Mumbai Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Doctors, Nurses To Seek Exemption From Poll Duty

Mumbai: Deans of state- and civic-run hospitals will be requesting the Mumbai district collector to exempt doctors and nurses from election duty and revoke the letter or order sent by the district election officer on March 27 for the same. The list of doctors and nurses is ready and orders have aleady been handed over to all doctors in person.

According to hospital administrations, nearly 544 doctors and 820 nurses have received orders from the collector’s office to join election duties. However, this order has made a noise across all the major civic- and state-run hospitals.

“We will not send our doctors and nurses on election duties. We are in the process of holding internal meetings. We will ensure that all doctors and nurses are exempted from such duties. We will be writing to the district collector asking him to revoke the orders,” a senior official from the public health department said.

A senior doctor from King Edward Memorial Hospital said the administration was shocked when it received the letter for election duty. “Each doctor received such a letter, following which we approached the hospital dean,” he said. Class III and IV employees from hospitals were recently deployed for election duty by the district election officer.

BMC Additional Commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde said: “Even I got to know about election duties being assigned to doctors and nurses. Being essential services, assigning such duties will not only disturb hospital environment but patients will be more affected.”