Thiruvananthapuram

The Health division which had issued a round banning medical doctors from indulging in social media or beginning YouTube channels, has withdrawn the round after it evoked criticism from the medical fraternity, particularly the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association

The round was issued by the Director of Health Services on March 13, in response to the “several letters from government officials being received on a daily basis at the department, seeking permission to create social media posts or start YouTube/Instagram channel, without violating service rules or any dereliction of official duties.”

In denying permission to medical doctors and different Health division officers to take pleasure in social media, the DHS had quoted a authorities communication which stated that giving permission to authorities officers to create posts on social media or begin channels on YouTube/Instagram was more likely to result in the violation of service guidelines and intervene with official duties.

Moreover, authorities servants making an extra revenue out of “channel views” on social media platforms could be a violation of the 1960 conduct guidelines for presidency servants and the federal government had no technique of checking it, the communication had stated.

However, the round was withdrawn by the DHS on Thursday, citing administrative causes, after an enraged medical fraternity claimed that the round was a violation of the residents’ Constitutional proper to free speech and expression underneath Article 19 (1)A.

The KGMOA, in a press release, stated that at a time when unscientific promotion of other medication and pseudo scientific pronouncements by so-called social media influencers have been main the general public astray, it was by means of the identical social media platforms that many medical doctors and well being officers have been making an attempt to teach the general public and promote public well being knowledge.

At a time when expertise and social media platforms have been being extensively utilized by the Health division itself for promotional campaigns and telemedicine, such “regressive” circulars will solely distance science from folks, it stated.