Govt to appoint 800 Medical Officers
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 14: The State Administrative Council (SAC) which met under the chairmanship of Governor, Satya Pal Malik has approved the ‘Policy Document’ for setting up of two Medi-Cities in Jammu & Kashmir along with identification/ transfer of land by the Revenue Department for the purpose.
J&K Government has been laying emphasis on provision of quality healthcare facilities to the people and expanding the coverage of public health institutional network. There are around 3500 public health institutions spread across Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. Government has been making considerable investment in the creation of health infrastructure and improvement of the quality of public health services. Concerted efforts are also being made to develop the private healthcare sector in J&K to attain universal health coverage goals.
With a view to promoting healthcare infrastructure in J&K, Government in the month of March, 2019 had approved the ‘State Health Care Investment Policy-2019’. The Policy offered various incentives to the private investors and entrepreneurs to set up healthcare facilities that aim at improving accessibility of people to quality health services including promotion and establishment of hospitals and medical and allied educational institutions. The policy also envisaged declaration of well defined geographical areas having potential and being conducive for development as Medi-City to promote medical tourism in J&K.
The Policy Document underlined detailed procedure for setting up of the Medi-Cities including the scope and facilities under Medi-Cities, responsibilities of investors/promoters and various operational modalities.
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir will invite private partners to set up Medi- Cities in Jammu and Kashmir divisions. The Government will notify identified geographies in the Jammu and Kashmir divisions for setting up of the Medi-Cities.
The private investor would be required to design, finance, construct, equip the Medi-City with necessary medical and non-medical infrastructure and run and maintain the facility. The Government of J&K will support in providing land, financial aid and assistance subject to the ‘State Health Care Investment Policy-2019.
The Government will also facilitate fast clearance of project proposals through a web based single window system allowing investors to avail the necessary approvals to establish and start their business operations through a single platform without any physical touch point with the approving/licensing authorities. An Apex Level Project Clearance Committee (ALPCC) will be set up by the Health & Medical Education Department for speedy clearance of the project proposals.
The Health and Medical Education Department will be the Nodal department for implementation of the Medi-Cities project.
The facilities expected in the Medi- Cities includes Medical Colleges & Hospitals, Super Specialty Centres of Excellence, Nursing, Pharmaceuticals, Hospital Management and Dental Colleges, Ayurvedic Colleges and Hospitals and Medical Education Hubs , AYUSH Centers, Research Centers with residential areas, staff quarters and guest houses etc.
With the establishment of Medi-Cities, the health care delivery system, in Jammu and Kashmir is expected to receive a major boost.
Meanwhile, the SAC has also accorded sanction to the enhancement of posts under Training Reserve from existing 6% to 20% and Deputation Reserve from existing 4% to 20% of the Duty Posts in respect of Medical Officers in the Jammu and Kashmir Health & Family Welfare (Gazetted Service).
It is noteworthy to mention that the Health and Medical Education Department is one of the essential services department and the Medical Officers are the cutting edge level functionaries constituting the backbone of the department.
The sanctioned strength of the posts of Medical Officers is 3781 comprising 3151 duty posts and 630 reserve posts.
With the increase in the reserve posts, the sanctioned strength of the post of Medical Officers will raise to 4726 posts. Consequently, more than 800 posts of Medical Officers shall accrue for reference to J&K PSC for recruitment. The recruitment against these posts will help the department to man the health institutions situated in peripheral and far-flung areas.
The recruitment of Medical Officers will also help to provide manpower in the sister organizations where the Medical Officers required to be posted on deputation from the Health & Medical Education Department. This will also provide opportunities to the Medical Officers to acquire such skills/training which would help them to further their career and in the process augment the health care system across J&K. This will also help in the smooth functioning of the newly established Government Medical Colleges.
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