The Kerala Health Services Director’s transfer begins with a row

The swift and unexpected manner in which Kerala’s Director of Health Services (DHS) KJ Reena was removed by the government is moving into a debate on the appropriateness and timing of the government’s action, especially as the state is now grappling with various epidemics.

Dr. Reena, who has been transferred as director of the Regional Public Health Laboratory, Ernakulam, a post that has been “temporarily upgraded to a level equivalent to that of DHS” as per a Government Order (GO) to accommodate DHS, said the government’s move was shocking.

She added that if the government was not interested in retaining her as the head of state public health, she could have been given an honorable discharge given that she had served 30 years in the Ministry of Health.

Dr. Reena was due to retire from service in April 2027.

The government order, which came out on Friday (June 12, 2026), only stated that Dr. Reena has completed three years as DHS and that the government will consider tendering to appoint a regular DHS. It also added another statement that Dr Reena took 15 days of leave during the outbreak period, fueling speculation that she was fired for seeking leave at a time when the public health system was under significant pressure.

Minister’s attitude

Health Minister K Muraleedharan, who faced a barrage of questions on Saturday (Jun 13, 2026) about the way the government scrapped DHS, denied reports that she had been transferred because she had taken leave.

Mr. Muraleedharan said that the DHS was transferred based on a notification submitted by the Principal Secretary (Health) that Dr. Reena has completed her three-year term as DHS and that the government can now extend her service or call for a tender to select a new person for the post. He went on to add that the transfer was also in response to “some actions by DHS that the government didn’t like.”

Letter to Commissioner Devaswom

He referred to a letter that Dr. Reena wrote to the Devaswom Commissioner on 20 May 2026 requesting the committee to appoint dedicated medical staff to provide medical services during the upcoming Sabarimala pilgrimage season as the deployment of a large number of government doctors and non-medical staff for several days together has caused a major financial crisis as well as a huge human resource crisis in public hospitals.

She suggested that the appointment of a dedicated team of doctors and paramedics for the pilgrimage season would be a viable solution to the staffing crisis and disruption of services facing the Ministry of Health.

Mr Muraleedharan took offense at DHS sending such a memo without consulting the government and said it also contributed to the government’s decision to remove her from the DHS post.

A controversial issue

The appointment of a number of doctors and medical staff from the health department during the Mandala-Makaravilakku season in Sabarimala has always been a contentious issue within the health department and the medical fraternity. Government doctors point out that anesthetists, surgeons and orthopedists are ending up in Sabarimala as public hospitals have struggled with staff shortages.

Sources from the Ministry of Health said that the letter from Dr. Reeny was carefully worded explaining the issues facing the ministry and that nowhere in the letter was he taking the position that the health services could not provide medical personnel to Sabarimala.

They said that while it was normal for any government to choose persons to head a department, it was unusual that a person with long years in the department was forced to leave under a cloud.

Published – 13 Jun 2026 17:58 IST