Washington DC's fire department emergency doctor resigns

Washington, Aug 19 (UNI) Indian American, Doctor Amit Wadhwa, who was the medical director in charge of quality control and training for the Washington DC Fire Department's emergency medical services division, resigned today.

Dr Wadhwa, also a part-time emergency department physician at Howard University Hospital and Providence Hospital, resigned following differences with the authorities on hiring new medics for the DC Fire department.

A search is under way for a new medical director, according to fire department sources.

Dr Wadhwa, who took over in March 2005, was highly regarded among agency providers who said he instituted additional layers of oversight to ensure the competency of new medics. He is the third person to leave the post during the four-year tenure of Fire Chief Adrian H Thompson.

New medic hires or recently trained medics who have passed their certification examinations are expected to go through two weeks of training in the District's emergency medical protocols before being assigned within the department. However, Dr Wadhwa insisted that new medics spend an additional six to 10 weeks with a field training officer and then demonstrate their competency in an interview and personal demonstrations of their skills before getting field assignments.

Sources within the department said that Dr Wadhwa was pressured to lower his standards because of recent budget problems and an urgent need to fill paramedic vacancies. His frank analysis of the department's shortcomings eventually led to a clash with Chief Thompson, who demanded his resignation late last week.

Fire officials said yesterday ''Dr Wadhwa brought many improvements to the Fire-EMS Department and to EMS service in the District of Columbia -- bringing more paramedics into the agency that can help critical patients, developing better programmess to evaluate and improve the quality of care we give people in the District, and laying a strong foundation for the future,'' Chief Thompson said.

In addition to working as the medical director, Dr Wadhwa was a member of a task force established by DC Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat and chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary that has oversight of the fire department.

The task force is charged with examining the delivery of EMS services in the District and recommending improvements. Several persons who sat on the task force meetings said Dr Wadhwa often provided a candid analysis of the deterioration of quality control systems within the agency.

However, Chief Thompson, through a spokeswoman, denied asking for the doctor's resignation. He said he ''knew of Dr Wadhwa's plans a few weeks ago'' and was looking for a replacement.

Meanwhile, Dr Michael D Williams, who joined the fire department last month as a medical officer, will serve as acting medical director. Dr Williams, a DC resident, is a trauma surgeon at Washington Hospital Center.

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