After making its mandatory for medical students to work for two years in rural areas, the state government was now planning to attract junior and senior doctors by offering them all kind of recreational activities after sunset.
Interestingly, doctors loving booze would have enjoy the luxury of not having to Eexcise tax for liquor served in such recreational clubs. These clubs would initially start in eight aspirational districts and later spread to backward districts of the state.
“The government has planned to attract doctors to look towards backward areas to ensure best medical facilities to the local people. It is not just that the government has made it mandatory for medical students to serve the first two years in rural areas but we will also take care of their leisure time by opening clubs and guest houses for with all facilities including entertainment,” disclosed a senior Heath ministry official in lucknow on Thursday.
Preferring anonymity, the officer said that the ministry has already sent a proposal to Excise department requesting waiver off all taxes on liquor served in recreational centres for doctors. Beside snacks and meals, the club would have facilities of indoor games, furnished rooms to ensure comfortable stay of doctors during their postings.
“Initially such clubs will be started in eight districts of the state including Chandauli, Siddharthnagar, Chitrakut, Balrampur, Bahraich, Fatehpur, Sonebhadra and Shrawasti,” he said.
When contacted, Health minister Siddharth Nath Singh confirmed the opening of recreational centre in these districts but refused to divulge further.
However, Singh claimed that to further boost health services in the state, it was decided to upgrade Community Health Centres into full fledged 50 to 100-bed hospitals through PPP model. He said that they would select two CHCs in each district and partner with private players to enhance medical facilities like emergency, surgeries and other medical facilities which will be made available at government rates. “Upgrading of CHCs would also help in minimizing the rising pressure of patients on government hospitals,” he said.
Singh said that work is also on to improve standard of medical staff in each hospital. ``There is no standard guidelines of posting of medical staff in hospitals which pose problems as experts of same field were posted in the same hospital while another hospital did not have a single expert,” disclosed Singh.
The minister further claimed to do away with the need of providing ambulances to carry the bodies of the dead from hospital to respective homes a budgetary sanction has been made and soon, two hearse vehicles in each district hospital would be available for the purpose.