Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 30: After Principals and Head of Departments, Minister for Medical Education, Taj Mohi-ud-Din has proposed ban on the private practice of all the faculty members in the Government Medical and Dental Colleges in the State and Cabinet, which is meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah tomorrow morning at Civil Secretariat Srinagar, will take final call on the proposal. The Cabinet is also likely to order much-awaited transfers in the Police Department at the level of SSPs and SPs.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Medical Education Department has moved a proposal seeking approval to impose ban on private practice of all the teaching faculty members in the Government Medical and Dental Colleges and the same would be thoroughly discussed in the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.
Stating that the Medical Education Department has been facing the greatest challenge of providing qualitative services to the people and the rapid depletion in qualitative services in tertiary care hospitals, which is damaging the academic character of these institutions besides effecting the provision of health care in these hospitals, is primarily due to the indulgence of faculty members in private practice, the proposal said, “not only this, the menace of private practice is also affecting quality teaching and research work”.
“Keeping in view the prevailing situation there is an urgent need for creating an atmosphere of disciplined work culture by banning practice of all faculty members of Government Medical and Dental Colleges”, the proposal said.
It is pertinent to mention here that imposing ban on private practice of the Government doctors was also ordered by the Division Bench of State High Court on November 18, 2011 in a writ petition titled Vichar Kranti International and Another Versus State of J&K and Others. However, the DB order was challenged by the State Government before the Supreme Court, which on May 10, 2012 granted stay on the operation of the impugned judgement. The next date of hearing in the SLP filed by the State Government against DB order is July 19, 2013.
Sources disclosed that Committee on Estimates in its report on the neonatal/infant deaths in the GB Pant Children Hospital, Srinagar amongst its various observations and directions strongly recommended to the Government imposition of ban on the private practice of the doctors in all the teaching hospitals on the ground that the same is damaging the academic character of these institutions besides effecting the provision of healthcare.
Recently, the Medical Education Department imposed ban on private practice of Head of Departments of different disciplines on the ground that they were directly related to the administration and management of their concerned disciplines and doctors dealing with the administrative job/role are not entitled to private practice for which they are being paid the Non-Practicising Allowance (NPA).
In response to a question regarding the impending problem following the imposition of ban, sources said, “the Medical Education Department has mentioned in the proposal that it has contemplated to start evening clinics in Col Chopra Nursing Home in Jammu and Kashmir Nursing Home at Gupkar Road, Srinagar and these clinics will cater those patients, who have no other choice but to go outside the State beyond their purchase power”, adding “moreover, the commissioning of evening clinics will provide an opportunity to utilize the infrastructure, which remains idle in the evening, and even ensure services of trained doctors/super specialists during odd hours that too on payment basis besides providing incentives to the faculty”.
According to the sources, the Cabinet will also discuss the proposal of the Home Department regarding some transfers and postings in the Police Department at the level of SSPs and SPs.
The Cabinet will also take decision on the proposal of the School Education Department regarding recruitment of teachers under Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in the upgraded Primary Schools through ReT Scheme.
Moreover, engagement of Rashmi Kashyap, Director Resources and Institutional Finance in the Finance Department as head of 14th Finance Commission Cell in the Department of Finance after her retirement on May 31 will also get Cabinet nod.
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