Mahabubnagar: Corruption stalls file movements in health dept

Mahabubnagar: The apathy of health department officials has turned file movement into a money-making exercise, forc-ing paramedical staff to either endure endless delays or pay bribes to get their work done. Despite re-peated appeals, lower-level medical staff, including nurses and paramedics, continue to face severe hardships due to bureaucratic red tape.

A nursing officer has been struggling for three years to secure a transfer due to her son’s severe mental health condition. The child requires continuous monitoring at night, as per doctors’ advice, but the officer has been assigned night shifts, making it impossible for her to care for him.

Despite submitting multiple applications to the Directorate of Public Health (DPH) office, her file remains untouched. Government rules allow transfers based on family medical needs, but DPH officials openly disregard these guidelines.

“This system is completely broken. If you have the right connections, your file moves instantly. If not, you are made to suffer indefinitely,” said a senior medical staff member.

On the other hand, officials have swiftly issued disciplinary action-based transfers to certain staff mem-bers, even though government orders prohibit such transfers during a ban period.

At the heart of this issue is the Foreign Service Deputation (FSD) scam, where officials falsely claim that only FSD postings are available while quietly filling regular positions through backdoor deals. Those who wish to work in Hyderabad—a preferred location for medical staff due to family and educational facili-ties—are forced to pay hefty bribes or face endless delays.

The Health Minister’s office has repeatedly directed the DPH to provide a suitable posting for the strug-gling nursing officer.