Absent from duty

Govt. plans to terminate 46 more doctors in Jammu

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Dec 4: In yet another move against the doctors who are absent from their duty for last many years, Heath Department has sent a new list of 46 doctors for the termination of their services from the department in Jammu province.

Sources said that these doctors have shifted to other states or out of country and are working in private hospitals without informing the department.

It is pertinent to mention here that in last three years about 150 specialist doctors serving in the state hospitals have left their jobs or have been terminated by the government after they joined private health sector within and outside the country.

The massive brain drain was prompted by the greener pastures with high end lifestyle available for the medical professionals outside the state and country.

A highly placed source said that most of the doctors have been terminated   after they remained absent from their services for several years without giving any reason to the department.

Director Health Services, Jammu Dr Madhu Khullar while talking to TNI said that department also sent the list of vacant seats to Public Service Commission (PSC) for recruitment in different hospitals across the Jammu region.

“The department has periodically notified the list of unauthorized absent doctors posted in different health institutions across Jammu province and new list has been submitted to the government” Dr Khullar said.

However a doctor on the condition of anonymity said that the main reason of shifting the doctors to other state or even aboard is lack of infrastructure and salary.

“A new doctor who joins Health Services department gets around Rs. 22,000 per month but same doctors gets more than Rs. 50,000 in a private hospital in other states and this is one temptation for the medical fraternity”, he said.

He added that if a highly qualified doctor posted in state health department he didn’t get require infrastructure in the hospitals as per his qualification, so spoiling his future he opted to go outside in private institutions.

Generally the more salary, allowances, perks, facilities of given by private hospitals, professional atmosphere, research work encourages doctors of J&K to other states and countries.