Incentive hike for rural doctors

In some cases, doctors posted in rural areas could earn twice as much as their city colleagues
Hardnews Bureau
 
To shore up rural health, the Centre has now decided to give an incentive to doctors to serve in rural areas.

Unveiling the health ministry's 100-day plan to make primary health accessible to the poor and needy in tribal, rural and hilly areas, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad directed the states to come up with 'location specific incentives'.

He said that health centres will be identified as 'difficult, most difficult and inaccessible' and incentives will be provided to doctors and paramedics who are willing to work there. In some cases, the incentives would be double than what their counterparts get in cities, Azad said.

The centre will provide funds under the ambitious National Rural Health Mission (NHRM). A Planning Commission report last year acknowledged lack of specialist doctors as the bottleneck to improving public health system. While identification of health centres on priority basis is a short term plan, the ministry has formed a task force to suggest measures to improve medical education in the country.

According to officials, of the 22,000 health centres in the country, roughly 1,000 would be targeted under the pilot project. The government is also mulling a plan to set up a National Council for Human Resources in Health, a regulatory body to enhance medical service.

On implementing compulsory rural posting for doctors, Azad said that it would be part of a long term plan while appointments of staffs in rural centres on contracts is to cater to immediate shortfalls.

He also clarified that necessary amendments would be made in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 to ensure standardisation of manufacturing, laboratory and distribution practices.