Specialist docs deputed to JNIMS
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, January 15 2017:
Even as a large number of State-run Community Health Centres (CHC) and district hospitals have been facing acute shortage of specialist doctors, a number of specialist doctors working under the State Government have been sent to JNIMS on deputation.
With a view to address the problem of shortage of specialist doctors at district hospitals and CHCs, the State Government created 273 additional posts of specialist doctors in 2010 in the category of grade III.
Taking into account the newly created posts of specialist doctors, the total number of posts for specialist doctors rose to 370 .
Since the number of posts for specialist doctors had reached 370, it was expected that there would be one surgeon, one physician, one anaesthetist, one paediatrician and one pathologist at each CHC.
With such manpower, it was expected that the CHCs would be able to perform common medical procedures like Cesarean Section, removal of appendix, gall bladder etc, informed a source.
It was also expected that the district hospitals would be able to provide services of specialist doctors.
In accordance with rules, out of the total posts of 370 specialist doctors, 75 per cent were filled in through promotion of existing grade IV doctors while the remaining 25 per cent were recruited directly through MPSC.
Meanwhile, the number of doctors who went for PG courses increased dramatically during the past six years since they came to know that the number of posts for specialist doctors had reached 370 .
The Government's plan to make services of specialist doctors accessible at CHCs and district hospitals by increasing the total number of posts for special doctors to 370 is not 100 per cent successful.
Still there is shortage of specialist doctors.
In spite of the existing shortage, a number of specialist doctors have been sent to JNIMS on deputation.
A number of specialist doctors including gynaecologists, anaesthetists, dermatologists and community medicine have been sent to JNIMS on deputation.
It is not yet clear whether the specialist doctors were deputed to JNIMS in accordance with rules or not, informed the source.
It requires examination whether JNIMS authority issued any advertisement for recruitment of specialist doctors on deputation or whether they wrote any letter to the Health Directorate to this effect, added the source.