Delhi govt agrees to doctors’ demand, creates panel to recruit junior medicos

Move aims to eliminate bias and improve working conditions following medicos' complaints of corrupt practices

Image used for representation (Photo | Shekhar Yadav, EPS)

NEW DELHI: Accepting a key demand of medicos, the city government approved the constitution of a committee that will look after recruiting junior and senior resident doctors.

With this, the hospitals cannot recruit the junior medicos directly. The health department issued two separate orders where it announced formation of a committee and directed hospitals to stop engaging resident doctors by their own.

“All Medical Superintendents/Directors...are hereby directed to stop engaging Senior Residents/Junior Residents at their own level since a Centralized Committee for Recruitment of JR-SR has already been created. Further, all such advertisements for the recruitment of JR-SR to be cancelled and if process has already been started and interviews have not been held, the same also to be cancelled with immediate effect,” the order copy read.

According to another order, the committee will have four members and will be headed by the Dean of Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC). The panel will also include a resident doctor.

The development comes after medicos met with Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj and highlighted allegedly corrupt practices in the recruitment process of resident doctors at hospitals under the city government. The issue was raised by a delegation of doctors led by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) to Bhardwaj on August 23.

“This is a significant step forward in improving doctors’ working environment and security across Delhi. With this move, the involvement of hospital MD/MS in the recruitment process will no longer be a factor, eliminating bias and favouritism,” commented Dr Manish Jangra, Chief Advisor, FAIMA.