No jobs since 5 months, unplanned bond policy, withheld certificates- Plight of Resident doctors in Rajasthan
New Delhi: With no jobs since 5 months, an unplanned bond policy and their certificates being withheld, the resident doctors in Rajasthan are on protest condemning the State Government for the unplanned implementation of bond service policy in the State.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that upset with the delayed implementation of bond service terms and rules specified by the Government in this regard, the resident doctors in Rajasthan initiated a protest last Sunday by wearing black ribbons.
In fact, the resident doctors belonging to Government hospitals in Jaipur, including Sawai Man Singh Medical College also started to boycott the routine services for two hours and they were also planning to increase the pressure on the authorities.
The medicos are upset with the fact that while the State is strictly imposing the terms of compulsory bond service, it has not issued posting orders to the medicos even though they graduated six months ago.
Apart from this, the resident doctors also pointed out the different facilities provided to the fresher and the in-service doctors regarding the posting after completion of their PG medical education. They have also referred to the minimal increase in the amount of salary given to the doctors joining the bond service, when compared to the stipend amount given during the residency. Further, the doctors are also alleging that the Government did not keep its promise regarding fulfilling the demands of the resident doctors last year.
AIIMS RDA extends Support
Criticizing the delayed implementation of bond service policy in Rajasthan by around six months, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of AIIMS is demanding that the bond conditions get implemented from the next year with proper planning in this regard.
"There should be a Uniform Bond Policy across the medical colleges," the President of AIIMS RDA, Dr. Jaswant Jangra told Medical Dialogues.
Now, the doctors belonging to AIIMS New Delhi have come to their support and AIIMS RDA mentioned in a recent press release, "Resident Doctors in Rajasthan are observing a protest against the Government Policy regarding the bond service being forcefully implemented without any proper planning on the doctors who just completed their post-graduation. The PG batch 2019-22 resident doctors worked tirelessly during Covid-19 pandemic. Now, they have neither been posted for their service as per the bond policy nor have they been issued their degree certificates to avail other secondary options in their career. This is not an unusual event in India, where the flaws of the health system is being covered up by exploiting young PG doctors who have spent their time and efforts in serving the people throughout entire period irrespective of their extreme working hours. This needs to be condemned in the most severe terms."
"Even after 5 months of tenure completion, the certificates of these doctors have been illegally retained as per orders from DME, refusing about 600+ doctors their right to employment and livelihood. These doctors are forced to do bonded labour from this year without any proper planning for the same," added the press release.
RDA AIIMS pointed out three issues-
1. Vacancies for the employment of these doctors were supposed to be issued 2 months prior to the tenure completion which the government failed to do this year.
2. Unemployment for over 5 months due to lack of planning from the side of government causing financial and psychological stress to these doctors.
3. They are not offered post as per their qualifications and bond policy norms. There is unequal distribution of posts. No guarantee of continuous employment and experience certificate, the government is forcing qualified doctors to occupy substandard posts causing a serious under utilization of human resources thus loss to the society.
Therefore, condemning the action of the Government, the AIIMS RDA mentioned in the release, "We, the Resident Doctors Association, AIIMS New Delhi strongly condemn this act by the government officials of Rajasthan and offer our strong support to all PG doctors who have put their time and soul for the betterment of health care system."
Speaking to Medical Dialogues in this regard, the President of AIIMS RDA, Dr. Jaswant Jangra mentioned, "We want the Rajasthan Government to plan the implementation of bond service policy in a proper manner. There are an uneven distribution of postings. For instance, after the completion of the PG medical education, only a few doctors get proper postings. Many doctors are posted to PHCs and CHCs without any infrastructure. This is nothing but a waste of resources."
"PG medical graduates can be posted in medical colleges with proper planning. In the case of Rajasthan, the doctors have not been given any posting for the last five months. Their degrees have not been returned as well. Therefore they cannot work for their livelihood. Already the implementation of the bond policy has been delayed by six months and the doctors in Rajasthan are demanding to mplement the bond service conditions from the next year with a proper planning," he added.
"We are also demanding a uniform bond policy across all the states. It is not true that doctors do not want to serve in rural areas. The fact is that the doctors are not being provided with the postings for a long time. So, the Government is just blaming the doctors, just for the sake of eyewash," he explained.
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