Deputation systems ends in Rajasthan, Govt. Doctors to work where they are posted

In fact, issuing warning to thousands of government doctors, the Health Minister has further mentioned that if the doctors try to avoid their original postings and their rural duties, they will have to face the consequences, which may include their salaries being withheld or losing their jobs.

"We have issued directions that if any official shifts doctors to other places on deputation, he will be served with chargesheet under rule 16," the Health Minister was quoted announcing by TOI.

The Minister has further requested the MLAs to not come to him with recommendations and has also asked them not to entertain such recommendations regarding postings and deputations themselves. Further, in order to provide better healthcare facilities to the people, the state government is planning to introduce the Right to Healthcare Bill soon.

With this announcement, the Health Minister is all set to crack the whip on around 3,000 government doctors. Although those doctors are posted in the rural areas including villages and smaller districts, they utilize their influences for getting a recommendation for additional posts in bigger cities like Jaipur.

PTI adds that last week, the Health Minister made the remarks during the Question Hour while replying to various MLAs' queries on the issue of some hospitals having more doctors than its sanctioned strength and others struggling to have the requisite number of doctors to man them.

To ensure that the doctors join their duty at the places of their posting, the minister told the house that the government has "abolished the system of deputation" for doctors in the state.

By the system of deputation, the minister apparently referred to the system of an ad-hoc transfer or posting of an employee to a post other than his original posting for a temporary period.

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As per the latest media report by the Times of India, recently the Minister accepted before the assembly that 200 primary health centres and six community health centres in the State lacked doctors.

While commenting on the situation, the Health Minister told NIE, "I have seen such community health centres (CHCs) where not a single doctor is present. There are six CHCs and 200 Primary Health Centers where there are no doctors. This is a matter of great concern."

Besides, 1,700 sub-centres in the State do not have nurses even though the Health Minister informed NIE that the government has employed 12,000 auxiliary nurse and midwives under the National Rural Health Mission.

More than 3,500 posts of doctors are lying vacant in the rural areas because of the reluctance on the part of doctors to join duties in the villages, adds the New Indian Express.

The daily adds that there are 3,688 posts of doctors in 33 districts of the State including 1,000 doctors being posted in the medical colleges without any posts. These doctors, however, draw their salaries from their original postings.

Almost all the doctors are interested to stay in the capital Jaipur, which has 161 doctors engaged in the super-specialty hospitals of SMS college.

TOI adds that as per the data provided by the Health Minister, there are 300 surplus doctors in Jaipur, and 100 surplus doctors in Ajmer. The minister claimed that orders have been issued to send these extra doctors back to their original postings.

Admitting the lacunae of the posting policy of doctors, the minister said, "I have abolished the work arrangement or deputation after joining. There are some obstacles in this, we will remove them too." He said the doctors will have to work where they are posted now.

Admitting the imbalance in the sanctioned strength and the number of doctors working in various hospitals, Meena admitted that in many hospitals 70 doctors are working instead of 40 and in some places, 40 doctors are working instead of 20.