PM's cut-and-thrust words for doctors and nurses
We welcome the prime minister's no-nonsense words for government doctors and nurses who think that by attending to people, who flock at the government hospitals and health centres for succour and treatment, they are doing a favour to them. They should seek their pasture elsewhere and not in government hospitals, if they cannot carry out their duties properly. We would like to reiterate that the basic job of health service providers does not have any bearing on the status of his or her appointment. It is unacceptable that government doctors should use their appointment as a cushy job, and spend more time in private practice, but draw full salary. In this regard, the PM's suggestion that incentives for those doctors not involved in private practice is apt.
We feel that in this day and age of information technology, it should not be much of a problem to keep a tab on everybody's attendance, nor on the number of patients who go to the government hospitals. And this can be done on an everyday basis instead of waiting for a weekly or monthly report, so that appropriate actions against the errant persons can be taken immediately.
We have been publishing reports and editorials, pointing out the gross dereliction of duty of some doctors, and in many cases, nurses, but very little, if at all, seems to have changed. We wonder what actions the DG Health and the ministry of health have taken all these years. The issue is not a new one, and much blame lies at the door of the administration for the problem to have persisted.
One would hope that the PM's cautions to both the parties—the ones the warning was addressed to, and those at every level in the supervisory hierarchy, up to the ministry—would be acted upon quickly.
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