Serve in rural areas, get NEET PG reservation: Parliamentary panel suggests incentives for MBBS doctors

New Delhi: To encourage MBBS doctors to serve in rural and remote areas, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recently recommended in its report to offer competitive pay, incentives, additional marks, or reservation in the NEET PG exam.

Further, the panel has also recommended scaling up multi-skilling and continuous professional development programmes as a measure to enhance career prospects for doctors serving in difficult areas.

"A balanced package of financial, academic, and professional incentives will ensure sustained availability of qualified medical professionals in rural hospitals," the Department-related Parliamentary Committee on Health and Family Welfare mentioned in its 172nd report.

On the panel's query regarding the incentives being considered to encourage MBBS doctors to serve in rural areas such as salary enhancement under NHM or additional marks in NEET-PG for rural service, the Department stated that the Government of India has taken a number of initiatives in the form of incentives and honorarium to the medical professionals for encouraging better service delivery in rural and remote areas in the country.

These measures include:

a) Hard Area Allowance to specialist doctors for serving in rural and remote areas so that they find it attractive to serve in public health facilities in such areas.

b) Honorarium to Gynecologists/ Emergency Obstetric Care (EmoC) trained, Pediatricians & Anesthetist/ Life Saving Anaesthesia Skills (LSAS) trained doctors to increase availability of specialists for conducting Cesarean Sections in rural & remote area.

c) Special incentives for doctors, incentive for ANM for ensuring timely ANC checkup and recording, incentives for conducting Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health activities.

d) States are also allowed to offer negotiable salary to attract specialist including flexibility in strategies such as ―You Quote We Pay‖.

e) Non-monetary incentives such as preferential admission in postgraduate courses for staff serving in difficult areas and improving accommodation arrangement in rural areas have also been introduced under NHM.

f) Multi-skilling of doctors is supported under NHM to overcome the shortage of specialists. Skill upgradation of existing HR is another major strategy under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) for achieving improvement in health outcomes.

Further, the panel noted that some States are providing reservations to in-service candidates who have mandatorily served for a defined number of years in rural areas under the State Quota Seats in NEET PG.

Taking note of this, the Parliamentary Committee opined, "The Committee is of the view that the Department should offer competitive pay other incentives under NHM to encourage MBBS doctors to serve in rural and remote areas. While monetary measures such as hard area allowances, honoraria, and negotiable salaries have been introduced, however, the Committee urges the Department to expand non-monetary incentives including preferential admission in postgraduate courses, additional marks or reservation in NEET-PG for rural service, and improved living and accommodation facilities."

"Further, the Committee recommends scaling up multi-skilling and continuous professional development programmes to enhance career prospects for doctors serving in difficult areas," it further recommended.

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