SMO Recruitment: DMA India supports Haryana Govt doctors, demands immediate action

Chandigarh: Supporting the issues raised by the Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS) Association, the Democratic Medical Association (DMA India) has demanded immediate and concrete action from the government.

The organisation, led by DMA National President Dr Amit Vyas, National General Secretary Dr Shubh Pratap Solanki, National Vice-President Dr Bhanu Kumar, and National Women Wing Secretary Dr Priyanshu Sharma, has issued a strong warning to the state government.

According to the association, breaches of promise in Senior Medical Officer (SMO) recruitment, unjustified delays in issuing ACP orders, and pending amendments to service rules have caused serious disappointment and dissatisfaction among government doctors.

Also read- Haryana Govt doctors warn of medical service shutdown on December 8, 9

The DMA highlighted that over 200 SMO posts are vacant, 160 posts are stuck due to pending rule amendments, and ACP orders have been delayed for more than a year. Doctors are continuously serving in OPDs, emergency, OT, and rural areas, yet the government is ignoring their longstanding concerns.

Medical Dialogues had reported that doctors under the Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS) Association announced that all healthcare services, including outpatient services, emergency care, post-mortems, labour rooms, and surgical units, will be suspended on December 8 and 9 if their longstanding demands are not addressed. The association further warned that an open-ended strike would commence from December 10 if no resolution is reached.

Supporting HCMS Association’s call for a complete shutdown on December 8–9 and an indefinite shutdown from December 10, DMA India has clearly stated that the government will be solely responsible for any disruption in health services.

The DMA has demanded that the government issue ACP orders immediately, unblock the SMO posts, implement the service-rule amendments without delay and provide Ayushman/NPA or equivalent incentives to specialist doctors.

"No more promises, we need action. Doctors are the backbone of the state; ignoring their issues is unacceptable. If health services get disrupted, the full responsibility will lie solely with the government — not the doctors. The government must act now, or the movement will become even stronger and more intense," warned the DMA.

Meanwhile, the directly recruited postgraduate specialist doctors have disagreed with the scrapping of direct recruitment of Senior Medical Officers (SMOs) and refused to join the strike. Distancing themselves from the protest, these directly recruited specialist doctors stated that direct recruitment of SMOs is necessary for them because several government-approved demands are still pending. Among them is the creation of a specialist cadre in the Health Department, which was approved in 2024 but has not been implemented yet. They said this delay has caused frustration and that direct recruitment is essential to protect their career growth.

Also read- Haryana Govt doctors stage 2-hour pen-down strike, OPD services suspended