ADILABAD: Amid an acute shortage of doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) government hospital and its medical college, nearly a dozen senior doctors who have served for years are still waiting for their contract renewals, which have been pending for two months.
One senior doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had been teaching medicos at the college since its establishment in 2008. “We have given 15 to 18 years of service. The government has been utilising our services all these years, but now the renewal is delayed. We are worried about our future because we cannot go anywhere after serving this long,” he said.
RIMS is a semi-autonomous medical college which was established in 2008 by the then chief minister Y S Rajashekhar Reddy. Doctors and staff were appointed on contract through GO 99.
Professors, associate professors, assistant professors and tutors were selected through interviews conducted by a committee headed by the Principal Secretary (Health), Principal Secretary (Finance), DEM (Academic), Director, Superintendent, Dean and a 21-member departmental panel.
After selection, the committee’s report was sent to the chief minister, who served as president of the selection committee, for final approval.
During the united Andhra Pradesh period, doctors faced delays of three to six months in wages but continued serving and contributed to strengthening the institution, producing several batches of doctors.
Contract renewal cycles require professors to be renewed every three years, associate professors every four years, assistant professors every five years and tutors every three years. However, doctors say the renewal process has been repeatedly delayed.
A senior doctor said they had approached the high court earlier, and the court directed the administration to continue their services.
“It is a semi-autonomous institution. Executive Board meetings were held regularly until 2017, but none have been organised since then. If meetings are held, several issues would come to light and mistakes could be corrected,” he added.
The group of senior doctors who were denied renewal recently met the Director of Medical Education (DME) in Hyderabad and submitted a memorandum seeking immediate renewal.
They alleged attempts to push out long-serving contract faculty by phasing out GO 99 and bringing in GO 1085, issued this June.
Another senior doctor said the united Andhra Pradesh RIMS institutions were later merged into the government system, but Adilabad RIMS remained semi-autonomous.
Doctors also raised concern over a possible shift from GO 99 to GO 1085, issued in June this year. Under GO 99, they had long-term contract appointments, while GO 1085 allows only one-year contractual engagement under the Director of Medical Education.
They said this change could undermine the job security of senior doctors who have served for more than a decade. A senior doctor said, “Doctors from across India come to work here. It appears there is a conspiracy to remove GO 99 and introduce GO 1085 to create problems for senior contract doctors.”
Speaking to TNIE, RIMS director Jaisingh Rathod said the administration is taking steps to address the issue. “We are organising meetings with the doctors. A decision will be taken after the meeting,” he said.
TGGDA seeks action on pending issues affecting government doctors
Hyderabad: Members of the Telangana Government Doctors Association (TGGDA) submitted a representation to the health minister on Saturday, urging action on issues related to the Director of Medical Education (DME), Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) and the director of health. The association said that although the government had given assurances earlier, little progress had been made on long-pending matters.
The five major demands include conversion of TVVP into a full-fledged government department, filling professor-level vacancies in Osmania and Gandhi medical colleges, release of peripheral medical colleges allowance, amendment to GO Ms No 142 on allocation of DMHO posts, and implementation of the Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for DH and Dental Cadre