Health Department Delays Forcing Staff to Pay Bribes
The inefficiency of health department officials has turned simple file movements into a money-making process. Paramedical staff, including nurses, are facing endless delays or are forced to pay bribes to get their work done. Despite repeated appeals, lower-level medical staff continue to suffer due to bureaucratic delays.
One nursing officer has been struggling for three years to get a transfer because of her son’s serious mental health condition. Doctors have advised that the child needs constant monitoring at night. However, the officer has been assigned night shifts, making it impossible for her to take care of him.
She has submitted multiple applications to the Directorate of Public Health (DPH), but her file has not been processed. Government rules allow transfers based on family medical needs, but DPH officials are ignoring 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.
Meanwhile, officials are quickly issuing transfers as disciplinary actions, even though government rules prohibit such transfers during a ban period.
A major issue behind these delays is the Foreign Service Deputation (FSD) scam. Officials falsely claim that only FSD postings are available, while secretly filling regular positions through unofficial deals. Those who want to work in Hyderabad—a preferred location due to family and educational facilities—must either pay large bribes or face long delays.
The Health Minister’s office has repeatedly instructed the DPH to provide a suitable posting for the struggling nursing officer, but no action has been taken yet.
