Delhi Doctors Oppose Removal of Contractual Resident Doctors Without Replacement

New Delhi: Protesting against the decision to remove contractual resident doctors without immediate replacement, the Resident Doctors at NDMC Medical College and Hindu Rao Hospital recently submitted their representation to the Medical Superintendent.

Writing to the MS, the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) expressed its strong protest against the "unilateral removal of contractual resident doctors without immediate replacement". As per the association, this will overburden the remaining staff and affect the quality of healthcare at the hospital as well.

Even though the Junior and Senior Resident doctors join the institute for a fixed tenure, if appropriate candidates are not found in a particular category, the institute often hires resident doctors on a contractual basis.

Explaining the issue, Dr Akshay Sharma, the President of RDA of NDMC Medical College and Hindu Rao Hospital, told Medical Dialogues, "Ideally, the contract for SR ship is of 1 year. However, the seats are given to open category for 44 days if no candidate appears for a particular category or those who appear are found lacking the requisite qualifications. The tenure can be extended further if a particular category candidate is not found. It is a stop-gap arrangement to ensure that there is not severe shortage of doctors."

Also Read: Violation of NMC rules- This Delhi's Medical College has no Regular or Contractual Faculty Working in Medicine Dept, reveals RTI

He further explained that non-academic Junior resident doctors also join any of the departments after completing their MBBS based on an interview. Such appointments are made for 6 months or 1 year.

"Now they have discontinued contractual appointments for 44 days, causing a severe shortage of resident doctors as the posts are lying vacant and the rest of the resident doctors are facing a massive load of patients. And that's completely unfair and is causing disruption of medical services in the biggest hospital of MCD," he added.

In its representation before the Medical Superintendent, the RDA pointed out that this move, if implemented, will have a severe and immediate consequence on patient care and the smooth functioning of the hospital.

"It is a well-established fact that resident doctors form the backbone of any hospital, ensuring the continuous delivery of critical healthcare services. Abruptly removing them without a transition plan is not just impractical but also highly irresponsible. It will overburden the remaining staff, delay essential medical attention for patients, and create unnecessary chaos in an already overburdened healthcare system," the association mentioned in the letter.

"We must also highlight a concerning discrepancy- no other government hospital in Delhi, whether under the Central or State government, has implemented such a policy. This unprecedented decision singles out our hospital, raising serious concerns about its necessity and fairness. If this policy was indeed essential, why has it not been uniformly implemented across all government hospitals?" asked the doctors.

They further added in the letter that while they fully respect and support the reservation policy, it is also imperative to acknowledge that recruitment takes time. 

The association stated, "Until suitable candidates are appointed, it is only logical and necessary that the current contractual residents continue their services to prevent a healthcare crisis. Any move to disrupt this arrangement without viable alternatives in place is unjustifiable and directly detrimental to patient care."

"We strongly urge you to immediately reconsider this decision in the best interests of the hospital, its workforce, and—most importantly—the patients who rely on our services," added the letter.

Also Read: Not Adhoc! Recruit Regular Assistant Professors in Odisha Medical Colleges: HC Tells State