Dehradun|HL
Uttarakhand health department recently published notices in leading dailies about the acute problem of doctors resisting hill postings, those who were shifted to the hills months ago but have not joined duty.
In one such notice, a dental surgeon transferred in October has been asked to join duty by Friday, failing which she will be “automatically relieved of her duties.” Authorities have long struggled to move doctors from four plain districts to nine in the hills.
According to senior officials in the department, 55 doctors have been transferred to the hills since June 2016 but not even half of them complied with the orders, though they are mandated to join within a week of receiving the orders as per the Transfer Policy 2014.
Additional director (administration) Prem Lal told TOI , “Ten doctors have been forcibly discharged for resisting transfers. The transfer policy needs to be strictly adhered, or else legal action would follow. There are many perks for those going for hill transfers. Added allowances may motivate them to take hill postings.”According to the sources, the ground realities are very different though. Government doctors openly flout transfer orders and stay put in the plains.
In spite of several notices, many of them are yet to join their services in the hills severely hitting sparse healthcare facilities in the remote parts of the state.
Inputs:agencies
