Now, clinical duties must for doctors

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26

Battling with an acute shortage of doctors, the Health Department has ordered its doctors posted on administrative duties to perform clinical duties for 1 to 8 days in a month in accordance with the demand of their executive duties.

The orders, which have come into force with immediate effect, provide that the Director General of Health Services will perform clinical duties for a day in a month while his additional director generals and directors will see patients for two days in a month.

At the district level, the civil surgeons will examine patients for one day in a week, while other doctors on administrative duties like principal medical officer, medical superintendent, senior medical officers, deputy civil surgeons, deputy directors, dental directors as well as those medical and dental doctors posted in the Director’s office, NHM, civil surgeon’s office or any other office will perform clinical duties twice a week.

“It is reiterated that no doctor belonging to the aforementioned services regardless of his posting in any office of the state, including the doctors working on deputation within the state, will be exempted from performance of these duties,” the order further added.

The doctors posted on the administrative posts will have the option to choose an institution of their choice for discharging their clinical duties.

The government orders said that non-performance of the clinical duties would be held against the doctors while considering their cases for various service benefits, including promotions.

“We have taken this step in view of the acute shortage of doctors in the state. This will ease out the problem to a great extent. Also, patients will be able to get benefit of the expertise of senior doctors,” said Anil Vij, Health Minister.

Vij said that the government would implement these orders strictly. “The days when a doctor does not perform clinical duty or does not make up in the following week, will be treated as absence from duty,” he said.