Cabinet to take final call on consent given by 96 doctors

CHANDIGARH: With 96 doctors serving in dispensaries run by panchayati raj and rural development ministry giving their consent to merge their services with the health department, the Punjab Cabinet will take the final call at its next meeting.

According to a top government functionary, 96 doctors have accepted the government proposal to join the health department as fresh appointees in the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) cadre and have submitted affidavits to the rural development department.

As many as 765 MBBS doctors are serving in 1,186 dispensaries of the rural department and a proposal to merge these doctors and staff in the health department was mooted by health minister Brahm Mohindra to alleviate shortage of doctors.

However, the proposal hit roadblocks after most doctors serving in dispensaries rejected the government offer. They are demanding seniority in PCMS from the date of joining as rural medical officers.

“The government has admitted to our demand to pay us all allowances on the pattern of PCMS doctors and provide the benefit of our service in the postgraduate course quota,” said state president of Pro-merger Rural Medical Officer’s Association, Dr Arshdeep Brar.

However, a few contentious issues need ironing out. It is not clear whether these doctors will be immediately shifted out of rural dispensaries after the merger. “The merger of 96 doctors will hamper services. They should not be shifted out until the shortage of 500 doctors is filled,” said Dr Aslum Parvez from Rural Medical Services Association.

Health minister Brahm Mohindra claimed that a policy on where to place the new doctors is under consideration.

HEALTH MINISTER BRAHM MOHINDRA MOOTED THE MERGER TO ALLEVIATE SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS