Paramedical Staff Suffer as Red-Tapism, Corruption Stall File Movements in Health Department

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

The situation in Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s own Mahabubnagar district is particularly dismal, with health officials paying little attention to the genuine concerns of supporting medical staff. Even cases involving humanitarian grounds remain unresolved for years unless someone is willing to grease palms.

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. However, officials readily approve postings and transfers for those who use influence or bribes.

"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.

Government rules allow transfers based on family medical needs, but DPH officials openly disregard these guidelines. The case of a nursing officer working for 12 years at Government Dental College Hospital without a transfer has raised eyebrows, highlighting favoritism.

On the other hand, officials have swiftly issued disciplinary action-based transfers to certain staff members, 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 facilities—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 struggling nursing officer. However, officials have blatantly ignored these instructions, instead allocating an FSD posting to another well-connected nurse from Warangal.

Union leaders and paramedical staff have condemned this indifference, calling on Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Health Minister C Damodar Raja Narasimha to intervene immediately.

"It is disgraceful that such injustice is happening in Mahabubnagar, the CM’s own district. If medical staff can’t get basic administrative justice, how can we expect quality healthcare for the public?" asked S.K. Prasanna Kumari, a leader of the medical workers' union.

With rampant corruption and official negligence crippling the system, health workers continue to suffer, and patients ultimately pay the price for a broken bureaucracy.