Dept offers proposal for Rs 25K to Rs 75K incentives to doctors

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, February 21

The state health department has offered a proposal of granting Rs 25000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 monthly incentive to the specialist doctors (MDs) to attract them to rural and remote areas. This incentive to doctors will be over and above their monthly salary.

In a letter to all Civil Surgeons in the state, Satish Chandra, additional chief secretary, health and medical education, on Wednesday asked them to categories the Community Health Centers, Sub Divisional Health Centers and District Hospitals in their respective areas into three categories for grant of incentive of Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 per month.

For the doctors working under National Health Mission (NHM), the incentive would be applicable for gynecologists and pediatricians. For regular doctors of state health department, the civil surgeons have been asked to provide inputs for the specialties which need incentive.

The doctors under NHM are recruited on contractual basis on a fixed consolidated honorarium. As specialists under NHM are not happy with their fixed pay, so that they don’t leave the government job, the health department has decided to increase their basic monthly remuneration from Rs 70,000 to Rs 1,25,000.

Besides providing these incentives to the specialists, the department has a proposal to appoint doctors on part-time (4 hours working) basis, in case regular specialist doctors are not available under NHM, said Satish Chandra.

This move is to meet the deficiency of specialists-gynecologists, pediatricians, anesthetists and surgeons-and giving them incentive on the basis of their place of posting, wrote the additional chief secretary to civil surgeons.

The purpose of this exercise is to compensate the Specialists doctors for any hardship due to their posting in remote areas of the state.

The Health Department is facing big problem in arranging doctors in radiology, paediatrics, TB and chest, medicine, gynaecology branches.

To fill 513 vacancies of specialists, the health department has conducted 30 walk-in interviews in the last about two years but only 215 posts could be filled. Even seven of those selected by the department on 215 posts, have not joined the service as yet.

Against 46 vacancies of radiologists, the department could get only 3 doctors in 30 walk-in-Interviews. Similarly in Pediatrics, against 121 vacancies, only 23 posts could be filled. In medicine, gynecology, TB and Chest, 21, 15 and 2 doctors joined the health department against 69, 38 and 11 vacancies, respectively.

Letters issued to civil surgeons

• In a letter to all Civil Surgeons in the state, Satish Chandra, additional chief secretary, health and medical education, on Wednesday asked them to categories the Community Health Centers, Sub Divisional Health Centers and District Hospitals in their respective areas into three categories for grant of incentive of Rs 25,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 75,000 per month.

• For the doctors working under National Health Mission (NHM), the incentive would be applicable for gynecologists and pediatricians. For regular doctors of state health department, the civil surgeons have been asked to provide inputs for the specialties which need incentive.

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