Gambit pays off: specialist doctors bid for rural service

 The government’s attempt to get specialist doctors to name their price to work in the villages is yielding good results.

The Health department has received 5,262 applications for 1,212 rural vacancies.
Its recent drive, asking doctors to quote their remuneration, was intended to attract specialists to work at district and taluk hospitals as well as community health centres. Doctors have quoted up to Rs 5 lakh a month.

“We are paying around Rs 1.8 lakh and up to 1.9 lakh in the Hyderabad–Karnataka area,” said Dr Shalini Rajneesh, principal secretary, health and family welfare. Hiring doctors asking for more calls for approvals from the National Health Mission, she said.

Staff resistance

Many doctors on the staff of state-run hospitals had objected to the remuneration the government is willing to pay contract specialists.

They said many specialists had discontinued the practice last year after just a few months, citing lack of facilities.

Shalini said the law to enforce compulsory rural service had been amended, and the government would have the services of at least 800 doctors every year after their post-graduation.

“We are also taking doctors on an on-call basis. We know where they are located, and when they are required, we call them by paying Rs 10,000. The fee changes according to their specialisation,” she said.

The bid has seen doctors applying even for postings in districts away from big urban centres. She said doctors who had applied were already practising in the area.

“Their families do not get disturbed and they get an additional fee which encourages them to serve in government hospitals,” she said.

Doctors are selected on the basis of their qualification and their bids. An MoU is signed with them on performance criteria. The contract is for one year, and renewable.

Freelance work

The government is also preparing a list of specialists on call. They get calls when their services are required, and are paid about Rs 10,000 a case.