Govt may tinker with docs’ transfer policy

Tribune News Service

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Dehradun, February 14

The transfer policy for government doctors will be put to test, as the Department of Health begins issuing appointment letters to 421 doctors who have been selected through the State Public Service Commission.

According to the norms of the transfer policy, the selected doctors have to be first compulsorily posted in remote category (1 and 2) areas of the state. The remote (1) category area include health facilities located 250 km to 300 km from the nearest railway station while in the remote (2) category area, health facilities located 200 km to 250 km from the railway station are included.

Sources say that to circumvent these provisions, the department is planning to seek the Chief Minister’s approval for posting these doctors at places that have housing facilities. This means that these doctors can only be posted in district hospitals and community health centres (CHCS).

Clearly, if such steps are taken the rules laid down in the transfer policy will be violated. More than anything else, the department is under pressure to retain 420 doctors. Past experience suggests that the moment doctors are posted in hill areas, they decline to join duty. In order to avoid a similar situation, the department may be forced to tinker with its own policy.