The health services of the State continued to be hampered on Thursday by two hour work boycott call given by the association of Government doctors, the Provincial Medical Health Services (PMHS). The decision of the State Government to constitute a three member high level committee headed by the chief secretary has failed to amuse the agitating doctors. However the patients are paying the price of this standoff between the doctors and the State Government. The doctors are abstaining from their work from 9 am to 11 am due to which large queues could be seen outside all OPDs. The reduced duty time of doctors has ensured increased flow of patients to the private hospitals and nursing homes.
The Vice president of the PMHS, Dr Anand Shukla told The Pioneer that the state government should not discriminate between new doctors and old doctors on the issue of Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP). The state government though implemented the scheme in the year 2015 but restricted it to the doctors who had joined the state health services in the same year. This decision of government has not gone well with the serving doctors and they are expressing their resentment by work boycott call. One section of doctors is forcing the PMHS to go on a complete strike from February 08. Dr Shukla said that only 220 doctors of the state health services are outside the purview of DACP and the State Government would be under not such a huge financial burden if the scheme is implemented across the board. He claimed that a wrong impression of big financial burden is being created.
The DACP practically means doctors would get assured increase in their grade pays after 4, 9, 13 and 20 years of the service irrespective of whether they get promotions or not.