If Govt fails to implement DACP before Sept 24
The Government doctors in the State would resort to mass resignation from their services if the State Government fails to implement the Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme before September 24, said the president of Provincial Medical Health Services (PMHS), Dr BS Jangpangi while talking with The Pioneer on Sunday.
The PMHS is constantly pursuing the issue of DACP, which ensures regular increase in the grade pay of doctors after 4, 9, 13 and 20 years of the service.
A meeting of all district units of PMHS was convened in Dehradun on Saturday to discuss the issue. Dr Janpangi said that the mood of the district representatives was of direct confrontation with the Government.
They were told that as the state Chief Minister Harish Rawat has assured that the demand would be looked into so the organisation should wait for some time.
The PMHS postponed the earlier boycott of the Out Patient Departments (OPD) from Monday but decided that they would express their protest by wearing a black ribbon. Dr Jangpangi said that the doctors would now boycott the OPDs from September 22 and would give mass resignations on September 24 if the government fails to bring the Government Order (GO) on implementation of DACP till then.
He expressed anguish at the fact that while officers of the other departments get the facility of Assured Career Progression (ACP) the Government doctors of the State are deprived of the benefit and claimed that the State Government would not be burdened much by implementing the scheme.
The PMHS contends that the doctors of Central Government and various State Governments get the benefit of DACP and the doctors would be attracted to the State services if this scheme is implemented in Uttarakhand also.
Uttarakhand is facing acute shortage of doctors as 70 percent of positions of doctors are lying vacant in the health department of the State and the situation is worse in the remote and mountainous areas where the medical facilities are virtually non-existent due to absence of doctors.
It is felt the Government should give the benefit of DACP to the doctors as they need additional financial security considering the fact that they spend more time in studies and are enrolled in the jobs at a comparatively higher age than their counterparts in other departments.