GMCH Superintendent refutes Doctors' mass resignation claims, Assam CM shares data

Guwahati: The Superintendent of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Dr Abhijit Sarma has refuted the claims of mass resignation of doctors from the government hospitals in Assam in the last five years. 

Referring to the media records and social media posts claiming that 174 doctors have quit government jobs of which 98 doctors have voluntarily retired and 76 have resigned from service in the last 5 years, Dr Sharma in a statement on social media clarified that no such resignations happened at present.

"Surprised by the News item of alleged Govt doctors resignations. No such mass resignation has happened at present. I or my Principal is not aware of any such thing at GMCH. People have to be careful while posting such news on Social Media," Dr Sharma said in a post on 'X'.

Also read- Faculty Members Of SSH Indore Threaten Mass Resignation Over Delay In Promotions

This comes after a section of media reported that a total of 174 physicians have either retired voluntarily or left the government sector for different reasons in the past five years leaving more than 700 doctor positions under the state government unfilled. 

On July 9, Assam Tribune reported that between January 2019 and May 2024, a total of 98 doctors chose to retire voluntarily, as per the information provided by the state health department. Additionally, within the past five years, 76 doctors have resigned from their positions.

Under the voluntary retirement scheme, 21 doctors working in different parts of the state have opted to quit their government jobs in 2019, nine doctors in 2020, 34 doctors in 2021, 15 doctors in 2022, and 19 doctors during the period from January 2023 to May 2024.

As per a NorthEast Now news report, 16 doctors from Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) tendered their resignation followed by 13 from Jorhat Medical College & Hospital (JMCH), 11 doctors from Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh. The list of resignations of doctors also includes from state-run hospitals in Silchar, Nalbari, Kokrajhar and Diphu Medical Colleges.

Refuting the data, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a Facebook Live session shared a new set of data after attending a meeting with the health department officials.

According to the new data shared by the CM, In 2021, 36 doctors from medical colleges resigned while 279 new doctors joined. In 2022, 12 resigned while 441 joined. In 2023, 64 doctors resigned while 302 joined. And in 2024, five doctors have resigned, while 183 will join the medical colleges. However, the number of resignations will go up to 30-35. According to our data, 1,676 new doctors have joined government hospitals in the state from 2016 to 2024.   

“This is a fact that every year, some doctors resign in the state," he said in the live. Further, Himanta also explained the reasons why doctors have resigned from government medical colleges and hospitals in the state.   

“Firstly, the age of retirement of doctors in the state is 70 years. In case of other jobs, this limit is 60 years. So for the age of 70, many doctors are not in a position to work, for which they want to retire. Secondly, a new doctor who has joined as a doctor wants to take additional education. They want to resign to do Doctorate of Medicine (DM) or (Magister Chirurgiae)/Master of Surgery, so we accept their resignation. Thirdly, some doctors want to go to the private sector or nursing homes to find more salary or income. Many such doctors want to resign," he added.   

Also read- JJ Hospital Ophthalmology Dept Controversy: Doctors Give Mass Resignation, Dean Moves To Verify Documents