Patiala, April 6 -- Now, civil surgeons and senior medical officers (SMOs) will have to send their leave requests directly to the principal secretary instead of the director of the Punjab health department. This decision is learnt to have been taken after many civil surgeons and SMOs were caught on 'furlough'.

When asked about the rationale behind the move, Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh said the decision was taken to improve the health services in the state.

Currently, there are nearly 250 SMOs and 35 civil surgeons-cum-deputy-directors in the state. Earlier, SMOs used to send their leave requests to their respective civil surgeons while civil surgeons used to send their leave requests to the director of the Punjab health depar...