Super speciality doctors move HC, say their talent is not used

Updated on: Saturday, October 08, 2011

The Bombay High Court today asked the Maharashtra Government to come up with a permanent solution for giving postings to super-speciality doctors in the civic hospitals, instead of wasting their talent by posting them in place of medical officers.

Criticising government's approach of under-utilising qualified doctors in the state-run and civic hospitals under the garb of serving the two-year bond period, Justices B H Marlapalle and Nishita Mhatre asked the state to inform whether it was willing to create posts to accommodate super speciality doctors.

"Let the officer of the level of principal secretary tell us what you (government) plan to do about this. Are you willing to create super numeric posts to accommodate these super speciality doctors?" asked justice Marlapalle.

The matter will be heard again on October 18. The court was hearing a petition filed by 44 doctors who were asked by Director of Medical Education and Research (DMER) in June to join civic hospitals in Mumbai to serve the two-year bond period.

A super specialist doctor has to put in a total 12 years of intense medical education before getting the degrees. Anil Anturkar, counsel for the doctors, said this is under-utilisation of their talent. These doctors, with super speciality degrees, are asked to join civic hospitals as either medical officers or registrars, posts at which ordinary medical graduates are appointed, he said.

Under the bond, the medical professionals are required to serve for two years in any state-run, civic or defence hospital, after obtaining DM or MCh degrees or pay Rs 25 lakh to the state towards expenditure incurred on their education.

Anturkar said that the doctors are not averse to serve in civic hospitals, but they should be given work according to their qualifications. The whole exercise of service bond period would be wastage of public money and resources and under-utilisation of highly qualified persons, the petition contended.

Anturkar suggested that instead the government may sign bonds with condition that if a posting is not provided of equivalent qualification, then it would stand null after three months. As of now, over 1,400 super specialists are not given any posting. Around 1,500 posts of medical officers are lying vacant in the state.

Super speciality doctors move HC, say their talent is not used

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