Fitness certificate from the CMO? It?s useless

ARE MEDICAL fitness certificates being issued by the CMO to aspiring engineers and doctors in Kanpur City valid? No, as far as the Government Order detailing the powers of doctors at various administrative posts are concerned.

The GO number 4362 Sec-3/Five-71401/86 dated August 26, 1986, clearly states that a chief medical officer can only issue age, old-age certificates and to physically challenged persons, besides, certificates related to increasing the span of Visa.

However, the Chief Medical Officer’s office here is issuing fitness certificates to aspiring candidates, here for counselling at the HBTI and GSVM Medical College.

The authority to issue such certificates as per the GO, rests only with a senior, chief or principal superintendent of women and men’s hospitals. One of the many candidates who had assembled outside the CMO office when asked about it, pleaded ignorance and said that he was told by the hospital staff here that the fitness certificate for the same was being issued by the CMO at the Ursula Horseman Memorial Hospital, whose office is also situated on the hospital campus.

Interestingly, when contacted chief medical officer Vijay Shanker Singh initially said that the fitness certificate was being issued as per the amended GO in this regard. But, he failed to either give the GO number or the year in which the same was issued.

However, after few minutes the CMO called back and said that he was only following the precedent set here. He said fitness certificates were being issued by the CMO office only and even said that the same was being followed throughout the State. After all a CMO is the nodal officer of the district, he added.

When contacted the chief medical superintendent of UHM Hospital Ishwar Sharan, however, refused to make any comment in this regard but said that no one has approached him ever for issuing of fitness certificates.

Another doctor said that the CMO had been flouting the GO only to clip the wings of the CMS. The doctor also said that a complaint in this regard has been made to Principal Secretary Medical and Health Arun Kumar Misra.

Whatever may be the reason, the fact remains that issuing of the fitness certificate by the CMO office has certainly put in doubt the authenticity of the certificate issued to candidates.