| ‘Private practice of Govt doctors should be banned’ | | Lateral entry for medicos could be major reform, say experts | | AVINASH AZAD
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Oct 4: Lt Governor Manoj Sinha’s administration is going to launch lateral entry scheme for senior doctors to overcome shortage of doctors in various specialties, which is undoubtedly a good step but at the same time government should also ban private practice of government doctors like many other Union Territories and states of the country, if same is happened it would be a major reform in medical sector of J&K.
A senior doctor told Early Times that tomorrow or a day after tomorrow the government can announce the lateral entry scheme, certainly, it is a welcome step and would serve as a major reform in J&K’s health sector, but the government should add a clause in the notification that the doctors appointed through lateral entry cannot go for private practice.
Most of the government doctors involved in private practice lack commitment and also do not care about the patient when they visit doctors in government hospitals and ask patients to visit in their private clinics to get proper care, he added.
“Presently, most of the doctors are not available in government hospitals, COVID has become major excuse, but at the same time they are available in their respective clinics”, said a senior doctor, adding that private practice of government doctors is completely banned in all the UTs and states except Rajasthan and Orissa.
Covid-19 does not discriminate between the private clinics and government hospitals, but in government hospitals, the important services like surgery are closed due to this pandemic and the same services are available in private clinics and thus, patients are left with no choice but to knock the doors of private clinics of the government doctors to get services timely.
“In our country, there are only two states where private practice of government doctors have not been banned, now since J&K is a UT, the Lt Governor should take this major step to permanently ban private practice. If this happens, it would be a major and most important gift to the people of J&K”, he said, adding that there should be a mandatory undertaking for doctors applying for lateral entry that they cannot do private practice, and if someone found violating the rules should be punished under the law.
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