Sharadwat Mukherjee
Opposing the govt move, senior radiation oncologist Subir Ganguly, who worked at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital for 38 years, said, “Doctors hired on contract may not be committed to work. In Bengal, NHM and NUHM are administered by the state health department and operate on a 60:40 funding ratio between the Centre and the state. Because of contractual hiring, biplab Chandra, state secretary of Medical Service Centre, said good medical students would shy away from working in govt-run facilities.
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Kolkata: The Bengal govt is set to recruit doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff on a contractual basis at facilities ranging from rural hospitals to medical colleges, bypassing the time-consuming recruitment process followed so far, state health minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said. So, we will appoint staff — from doctors to Group D — on a contractual basis wherever needed,” Mukherjee said. Doctors appointed on a contractual basis can continue their private practice, he said. “2,000 or more doctors” and “8,000 to 10,000” nurses could be hired on contract, according to the minister. “The recruitment process for supporting health staff on a contractual basis will start, too,” he said. Arnab Sengupta, who retired as professor from Medical College Hospital, said, “The quality of doctors hired on a contractual basis may not be up to the mark. “The reason cited for contractual hiring — that the PSC recruitment process takes one-and-a-half years — is an excuse,” he said. Utpal Bandyopadhyay, general secretary of Association of Health Service Doctors, which has written to the health minister opposing the move, said, “If the govt wants to attract capable and hard-working doctors to the public health system, there is no substitute for permanent appointments. Regarding transfer of doctors and medical staff, health minister Mukherjee said, “The stress and pressure that come with these transfers are certainly not convenient for them.
“Doctors and nurses are appointed through the public service commission, a process that takes one-and-a-half to two years. The process includes advertisement, exam, interview… and medical test before appointment. The health department cannot sit idle for one-and-a-half years. The eligibility criteria for contractual hiring will be same as those followed in regular appointment. Also, the process may lead to nepotism in recruitment. That can lead to a decline in the standard of govt-run medical facilities. National Health Mission (NHM) and National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) permit urgent, decentralised contractual recruitment of doctors and nurses to address staff shortages and public health emergencies. Under this scheme, contractual doctors and nurses are paid a consolidated monthly remuneration rather than regular pay commission scales. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines In Nov, contractual recruitment drives under this scheme have begun in East Midnapore, East Burdwan, Birbhum, and Diamond Harbour. On the other hand, the health department has to be run properly. Download the TOI App.
The recruitment process, to be initiated by individual hospitals, will start on Friday, the minister said.
Notifications were issued before the last assembly elections for the appointment of 1,227 general duty medical officers, 622 assistant professors, 6,443 Grade-II staff nurses, 350 pharmacists and 809 medical technologists. Against 9,450-odd vacancies, the state health recruitment board had sent recommendations to the health department for the appointment of 8,500 people. This was the last major recruitment in the health department in the state.
The contractual staff will retain their jobs if a shortage exists even after regular hirings. The contracts will be kept suspended if there is no shortage after such appointments.