Assam to appoint retd doctors in rural areas

The Assam government has decided to appoint retired government doctors to fill up vacancies in the wake of young doctors refusing to take up assignment in the rural areas.

The Assam government has decided to appoint retired government doctors to fill up vacancies in the wake of young doctors refusing to take up assignment in the rural areas.

Announcing this, Health and Family Welfare Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said as 234 posts were lying vacant in rural areas, the government would not mind appointing retired government doctors at a monthly salary of Rs 15,000 per month if no new applications were received.

The government on Thursday advertised for a walk-in interview on June 7 and 8 for filling up temporary posts of medical and health officers. ‘‘We want to immediately appoint 234 doctors and 400 nurses while 854 more nurses will be recruited within the next few months,’’ Sharma said.

During its last stint, the Congress government had failed to motivate young medical graduates to serve in the rural areas.

Then health minister Bhumidhar Barman’s threats to take punitive action against such graduates too failed to evoke a response.

Law to check pvt practice

The issue of rampant private practice by government doctors has prompted the new Health Minister to announce introduction of a new legislation to control absenteeism in government hospitals. Himanta Biswa Sharma said the government would also examine if steps could be taken against nursing homes for engaging government doctors. Sharma made this announcement after a surprise visit to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital, where he found a lot of senior doctors absent.