Health Minister Vardhan plans 'working holidays' for Government doctors
At a time when India is grappling with preventable deaths due to a dearth of specialist doctors, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has come up with a novel plan to tackle the problem – send doctors from government hospitals for 'working holidays' during which they will treat people in remote areas.
Vardhan announced the "work on holiday" proposal while inaugurating an annual conference of the Society of Cardiac- Anaesthesiology on Sunday.
"There are problems in the hilly states of India, where state governments are finding it difficult to provide secondary and tertiary care," he said.
"Shortage of professional anaesthetists in rural areas is resulting in higher infant and maternal mortality. Carrying out Caesarean births is impossible without trained anaesthetists."
A possible solution could be a "'work on holiday" package for specialist doctors, he said.
The doctors could visit hill stations as guests of the state governments. During such tours, they could provide professional services as cardiologists, gynaecologists, neurologists or anaesthetists while simultaneously enjoying with their families the state government's hospitality.
"This should be considered by them as an extension of their service," Vardhan said, adding that the health ministry will circulate this suggestion among state governments soon.
According to a study published in the Indian Journal of Anaesthesia, with a current membership of the Indian society of anaesthesiologists at 14,900 and the population of India being 127 crore, there is one anaesthesiologists for every 81,208 people.
The uneven distribution of anaesthesiologists across the country means many rural areas lack access to the services of such specialists.
As far as other medical specialties are concerned, data published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research has shown the country is facing a severe shortage of specialists both for rural and urban services.
Rural India needs specialists on a priority basis, officials said.
Seventy per cent of posts for specialists like surgeons, physicians, paediatricians and gynaecologists in community health centres, which provide minimum specialist services to villagers, are lying vacant.
During a recent visit to Mussoorie, Vardhan said: "Though Mussoorie is one of the top tourist destinations in north India, its local population has only two small government hospitals with very few trained doctors. The total absence of specialists is leading to many preventable deaths," he said.
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