Health services ailing in absence of doctors

Deck — 100 posts lying vacant/Tanda medical college worst affected

Blurb — Lack of proper working conditions top blame

Ravinder Sood

PALAMPUR, August 18

To meet the shortage of specialist and superspecialist doctors in the state health services has become a major challenge for the government. In the past one year, over 50 superspecialists and specialists have left the job or proceeded on higher studies.

At present, over 100 posts of specialist and superspecialist are lying vacant in hospitals and medical colleges. It has become a matter of concern that no superspecialist or specialist doctors are willing to serve the state.

In the present circumstances, Tanda medical college, which caters to the medical needs of the state, is the worst affected. Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that in the past six months, six doctors, most of them superspecialists, had left, resulting in crippling departments amid the Covid crisis. Most doctors had joined AIIMS-Bilaspur.

Those who had left the Tanda college included Dr Lokesh Rana of the Radiology Department, who had an expertise in MRI, trus biopsy, MR arthrogram and alcohol ablation. These technologies are helpful in detecting prostate and bone cancers.

Earlier, such patients had to go to the PGI, Chandigarh, and AIIMS, New Delhi, for the treatment. However, Dr Rana had created these facilities in the TMC. Dr Rana has also written a number of books and articles, which had been published in various health journals. Now, Dr Rana has joined AIIMS, Bilaspur.

Other doctors who have left the TMC and shifted to AIIMS, Bilaspur, included Dr Rupali, a physiologist , and Priyander Singh Thakur, superspecialist from the department of endocrinology. Likewise, neuro-physician Dr Ashish Sharma has also left the TMC and joined AIIMS, Bilaspur.

In addition to this, Dr Navneet, a plastic surgeon, has also preferred to join AIIMS, Bilaspur. Dr Smriti Gupta, a paediatrician and superspecialist, has also quit the TMC. Dr Vikrant Kanwar, administrative officer, has also joined AIIMS.

In the absence of separate cadres for the specialists and superspecialists and lack of proper working conditions, the doctors are not willing to serve the state. Therefore, most of them are moving either to corporate hospitals or private nursing homes where they get higher pay and perks with better working conditions.

A superspecialist couple, hailing from Himachal, talking to The Tribune, said after the completion of their superspecialisation, they kept on waiting for advertisement of the post of Assistant Professors in the state medical colleges. Later, they were forced to join a corporate hospital outside the state.

Even after spending over Rs 5,000 crore annually, health services in the state are in a bad shape as all serious patients are referred to adjoining states or Chandigarh. Dozens of posts of professor and assistant professor are lying vacant.