The entrance examination for the dental doctors in the State health services was held in the state capital on Sunday. The examination which was held for the first time was organised in 15 examination centres of Dehradun. The Chairman of the Uttarakhand Medical Services recruitment board (UMSRB), Dr I S Pal said that a total of 4706 candidates had applied for the examination and 82 percent of these candidates appeared on Sunday. He said that the process of declaring result of the screening examination would soon start. “Since the model code of conduct imposed in the state we will take the permission of election commission for declaration of the result,’’ he said. The UMSRB officials confide that the election commission would be informed that the process of these examinations was initiated much before the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct in the State so it should give permission for release of result and recruitment of dental doctors.
The recruitment of dental doctors is a plan to provide some strength to the state health services which are reeling under acute shortage of doctors.
Out of total 2711 posts of doctors in 993 Government health centres of State health services, as much as 1615 posts are vacant are vacant at present. All efforts of the state government like providing the benefit of Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP), incentive of 20 percent extra incentive to the doctors discharging duties in mountainous areas, practice of entering into a bond with new MBBS and PG pass outs have failed to yield any result.
Unable to provide doctors in the health centres the state government recently decided to recruit large number of dental doctors and appoint them in the remote health centres to provide some relief to the people there.
These Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) doctors would be appointed in 53 positions in dental cadre and 150 of Provincial Medical Health Services (allopathic doctors) cadre of the State health services. The services of these doctors would be permanent in nature and would be governed by the state dental service rules and regulation. Apart from treating dental disorders these doctors would also treat people suffering from common diseases.