MUMBAI: In an unprecedented move, the BMC recently shuffled all senior neurosurgeons in its four teaching hospitals. Doctors from KEM Hospital in Parel were transferred to Nair, Sion or Cooper and vice versa. TOI has learnt the sudden rush of transfers was allegedly carried out at a “nudge” from Mantralaya after one of the senior neurosurgeons, who lives in south Mumbai, applied for a transfer from the suburban Cooper Hospital to one closer home.
However, civic sources said the mass transfers were carried out to quell “internal politics” within neurosurgery departments. BMC additional municipal commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde told TOI the mass transfers were urgently implemented for administrative reasons. He quoted from the BMC transfer notice dated August 11 that said, “Such movement of doctors will enhance availability of skilled manpower in various institutions and (a) variety of neurological interventions in all the medical colleges”.
The neurosurgery departments of each of the four teaching colleges have different USP: While Sion Hospital is known for trauma care, KEM is the only public hospital in the state to offer epilepsy surgery and stroke management. The sources said the BMC administration, after a daylong inquiry, thought that transferring professors would help create more centres of excellence for neurosurgery, especially in the suburbs. However, the “mess” in the neurosurgery department was apparent a year back when a complaint of sexual harassment was filed by a female assistant professor against a senior professor at KEM Hospital, Parel.
A committee was set up to inquire into the complaint. “The inquiry should have been completed in three months, but the committee took nearly a year to submit its report,” said Dr Shinde. The report exonerated the doctor of the charges of sexual harassment, but felt there could have been “workplace harassment” that a departmental inquiry could investigate. To facilitate an impartial inquiry, the doctor was transferred out in the first week of June. “However, the hospital dean failed to follow up with the BMC’s independent department of inquiry to institute the inquiry,” said Dr Shinde. The transferred doctor accordingly made a plea for transfer to a south Mumbai hospital closer home.
On August 11, Dr Shinde conducted a marathon inquiry, talked to all the stakeholders and decided on a complete overhaul, resulting in the mass transfers. A senior official from the BMC said the goings-on in the neurosurgery departments reflected intense rivalry between doctors. “These doctors have extraordinary skills and academic intelligence, but cannot get along with each other. There is an old history of rivalry to all of this,” said the official. However, certain sections of doctors are upset with the mass transfers. “Post-graduate students join a particular neurosurgery department of BMC because of certain subspecialities. With these transfers, the resident doctors won’t be able to pursue the same subspeciality in the next semester,’’ said a senior doctor.
KEM Hospital’s neurosurgery department has completed more than 500 epilepsy surgeries. Its neurology department is the only one in the civic setup to have multiple EEG machines needed to study seizures in a patient. “Even if the sub-specialty has to be developed in another hospital or with other doctors in KEM, it will take some time to get a new team and expertise together,’’ said another doctor. However, all the professors have already taken up their new postings and have not formally complained so far.
However, civic sources said the mass transfers were carried out to quell “internal politics” within neurosurgery departments. BMC additional municipal commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde told TOI the mass transfers were urgently implemented for administrative reasons. He quoted from the BMC transfer notice dated August 11 that said, “Such movement of doctors will enhance availability of skilled manpower in various institutions and (a) variety of neurological interventions in all the medical colleges”.
The neurosurgery departments of each of the four teaching colleges have different USP: While Sion Hospital is known for trauma care, KEM is the only public hospital in the state to offer epilepsy surgery and stroke management. The sources said the BMC administration, after a daylong inquiry, thought that transferring professors would help create more centres of excellence for neurosurgery, especially in the suburbs. However, the “mess” in the neurosurgery department was apparent a year back when a complaint of sexual harassment was filed by a female assistant professor against a senior professor at KEM Hospital, Parel.
A committee was set up to inquire into the complaint. “The inquiry should have been completed in three months, but the committee took nearly a year to submit its report,” said Dr Shinde. The report exonerated the doctor of the charges of sexual harassment, but felt there could have been “workplace harassment” that a departmental inquiry could investigate. To facilitate an impartial inquiry, the doctor was transferred out in the first week of June. “However, the hospital dean failed to follow up with the BMC’s independent department of inquiry to institute the inquiry,” said Dr Shinde. The transferred doctor accordingly made a plea for transfer to a south Mumbai hospital closer home.
On August 11, Dr Shinde conducted a marathon inquiry, talked to all the stakeholders and decided on a complete overhaul, resulting in the mass transfers. A senior official from the BMC said the goings-on in the neurosurgery departments reflected intense rivalry between doctors. “These doctors have extraordinary skills and academic intelligence, but cannot get along with each other. There is an old history of rivalry to all of this,” said the official. However, certain sections of doctors are upset with the mass transfers. “Post-graduate students join a particular neurosurgery department of BMC because of certain subspecialities. With these transfers, the resident doctors won’t be able to pursue the same subspeciality in the next semester,’’ said a senior doctor.
KEM Hospital’s neurosurgery department has completed more than 500 epilepsy surgeries. Its neurology department is the only one in the civic setup to have multiple EEG machines needed to study seizures in a patient. “Even if the sub-specialty has to be developed in another hospital or with other doctors in KEM, it will take some time to get a new team and expertise together,’’ said another doctor. However, all the professors have already taken up their new postings and have not formally complained so far.
