TN Doctors' bodies demand filling of 1500 vacant posts, better pay under GO 354

During the meeting, TNGDA raised multiple concerns, including the long-pending doctor vacancies, delays in promotions and transfer counselling for associate professors and professors, and the need for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for doctors. Meanwhile, the FOGDA pressed for the proper implementation of Government Order (G.O.) 354, which pertains to pay scales and promotions, and also demanded a Rs.3,000 allowance for medical officers with MBBS qualifications who were not covered under G.O. 293, reports the Daily.

FOGDA also expressed concerns over the low pay structure for government doctors in Tamil Nadu due to the non-review of G.O. 354, which was due in 2017. The federation highlighted that the salaries of doctors in the state were significantly lower compared to those in other states. Furthermore, they pointed out that 930 higher-order posts, originally sanctioned under G.O. 354, were abolished following the implementation of G.O. 4D2, which restructured government medical posts. FOGDA urged the state government to reinstate these abolished positions to maintain an adequate doctor-to-patient ratio in government hospitals.

According to TNGDA, around 450 of the vacant posts could be immediately filled with candidates who had cleared the Medical Services Recruitment Board (MRB) examination conducted in 2023 and January 2025. Additionally, following the recent announcement by the Health Minister regarding the recruitment of 658 specialists through walk-in interviews, the TNGDA acknowledged the urgency of hiring doctors but insisted that their regularisation should be done strictly through the MRB examination.

“Counselling for posting of service postgraduates (PGs) was held, and about 800 of them were posted. Of this, 236 opted for the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services and the rest in the Directorate of Medical Education and Research. As per our data, there remain 1,500 vacant posts of doctors in the State. During the meeting, we put forward the need to fill these spots,” K. Senthil, president of the TNGDA told The Hindu.

Another major demand put forth by TNGDA was granting the Director of Medical Education the authority to prepare a panel and conduct promotion and transfer counselling for associate professors and professors. They argued that this would streamline the process and prevent unnecessary delays.

The association also pointed out that the scarce specialities list has not been updated yet which will create problems for the doctors seeking Voluntary Retire Scheme (VRS). “The list has not been revised for 15 years. We hope that once the list is revised, 35 of the 45 specialities will be out of the scarce specialities list. This will enable doctors of these specialities to opt for VRS,” Dr. Senthil said. The associations emphasized that addressing these long-pending issues would not only improve the working conditions of doctors but also enhance healthcare services for the people of Tamil Nadu.