The medical education department is planning to drastically reduce the number of bonds entered by it with the students of the government medical colleges based in the state. At present, the government encourages the department to enter into bonds with maximum number of medical students as the state faces a shortage of doctors.
The secretary medical health, Nitesh Jha said that the department could reduce the number of bonds in the coming years as the number of vacancies of doctors in health department is reducing. He also pointed out that instead of sending the young medicos who have signed a bond to the hospitals located in remote and mountainous areas, a plan under which they would be posted in the plain areas as it would give them chance to serve under senior doctors, is being made.
When contacted, the medical education director Dr Ashutosh Sayana told The Pioneer that the department has sought a report from the office of director general ( DG) health on the number of new doctors required by it for the next five years based on which a comprehensive policy for bonded medical officers would be firmed up. “ We have convened a meeting to formulate a new plan for bonded medical officers in which the principals of all government medical colleges and representatives from health directorate would participate,’’ he disclosed.
In the proposed policy, the department would incorporate measures that would remove the chances of medicos jumping the provision of bonds and ensure that only limited numbers of bonds are signed with young MBBS students.
The bonded medical officers are the young medicos who at the time of admission in the medical colleges enter into a bond with the state government that they would serve in the health department of the state after completion of their education.