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To make job lucrative again, Punjab govt favours paying full salary to new doctors again
Doctors have also been protesting the move by the SAD-BJP government to increase the probation period from two to three years. But that’s not on the rethink table yet.
With doctors no longer finding a job with the Punjab health department lucrative because of a relatively meagre salary of Rs 19,000 a month for the three-year probation period, the Congress government is set to pay full salary — Rs 60,000 a month — even to new recruits as medical officers (MOs). This will reverse a decision of the previous SAD-BJP regime.
This comes in light of a situation best illustrated by data: Of the two previous recruitments of doctors, in 2016 as many as 95 of the 345 recruits did not join duty; and another 52 left after joining. In 2015, of the 404 doctors selected, 104 didn’t join and 32 resigned later.
As per a decision now put up for a final nod from chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the department has said that the probation period will stay, but the salary will be the full grade for those three years too. Sources said health minister Brahm Mohindra has pushed the case to scrap the lower-salary clause after he got feedback from officials about severe shortage of doctors in Punjab. Of the 2,338 posts of MO, 407 (17%) are vacant. Among specialists, of 1,770 posts, 414 (23%) are vacant.
“We cannot compromise with the health of the people at any cost,” Mohindra told HT on Friday, “We have to pay full salary to doctors if we want no further crippling of services. After passing MBBS, nobody will be willing to join on such low salary.”
Doctors have also been protesting the move by the SAD-BJP government to increase the probation period from two to three years. But that’s not on the rethink table yet.
“It was a draconian clause (of paying only basic salary component for probation period), and the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Association has always opposed it. We welcome that the government is finally going to end that,” said association president Dr Gagandeep Singh.
Last year, after 104 selected doctors did not join, the then principal secretary of the health department wrote to the finance department for nod to pay full salary. But the finance department rejected the plea citing constraints.
What further made the job less lucrative was that MOs hired in the previous two recruitments were supposed to serve in ‘difficult’ and ‘very difficult’ areas. The ‘very difficult’ stations categorised as ‘D’ require 42 MOs. These areas mainly fall in Mansa, Muktsar, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts. Similarly, category ‘C’ (difficult) stations require 68 doctors, mainly in Bathinda, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Moga, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur districts.
“One can imagine the state of health affairs in these areas where the doctors recruited left service,” lamented a senior official of the government.
BOX
Health dept ailing
Total posts: Vacant
Medical officers: 2,338: 407 (17%)
Specialists: 1,770: 414 (23%)
Nurses: 4,216: 981 (23%)
ANMs*: 3,982: 1526 (38%)
*(Auxillary nursing midwife)
