TIRUCHY: The inauguration of 50 primary health centres (PHCs) across the state last week has initiated the redeployment of 78 medical officers from existing PHCs to the new ones. Pointing out that 40 of them involved inter-district transfers, that too with instructions to join duty “within 12 hours”, the doctors’ fraternity has condemned the “forced relocations” and has called for the state government to sanction exclusive new posts for the new PHCs instead of weakening the already “stretched centres” through redeployment.
Of the 78 medical officers the health department has opted to redeploy from 56 existing PHCs situated in rural areas and 22 located in urban areas, several of the doctors have allegedly been transferred without giving them a choice. Several of them also involved transfers like from Sivakasi to Vellore and Thoothukudi to Krishnagiri, say doctors.
"These are not standard transfers but forced relocations. They (doctors) were asked to join within 12 hours," said Dr Saminathan, president of the Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA). Another concern the SDPGA raises is the impact on 122 upgraded PHCs across the state which operate 24x7. Following the recent transfers, the facilities currently function with five sanctioned medical officer posts each to handle emergencies and inpatient care.
"If 78 doctors are pulled out from these upgraded PHCs, their ability to function round-the-clock will be seriously affected. The doctors had built a strong rapport with their communities. Uprooting them like this affects both their service continuity and morale. Without creating new posts, taking away a doctor from one place weakens healthcare delivery, forcing a limited workforce to manage 24/7 service. Ultimately, it's the people who suffer," said Dr Aruleeswaran, treasurer of the SDPGA.
On Saturday morning, office bearers of the SDPGA met Health Minister Ma Subramanian at his residence in connection with the transfers. The minister agreed to conduct a special transfer counselling session, enabling the redeployed doctors to seek postings of their choice based on available vacancies within nearby medical centres in their health unit districts (HUDs), sources said.
The situation is not limited to doctors alone as most support staff like pharmacists, lab technicians and health inspectors for the new PHCs are being appointed on contractual basis, while essential roles like auxilary nurse midwives, junior assistants and drivers remain unfilled. Only 56 permanent posts (staff nurses and sector health nurses) have been sanctioned for 28 rural centres, they added. Meanwhile, a state-level senior health official maintained that all the new 50 PHCs have begun functioning and said that fresh recruitment will take place "in due course".