doctors on part-time basis

JAIPUR: Battling against shortage of doctors, health department has decided to rope in doctors on part-time basis. The health department will lure the specialist doctors, who are not government doctors, by paying them Rs 2,000 per two hours of their service in urban primary health centres.
A health department official said that the service would remain available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Officials said that those specialist doctors who have retired from the government service will also be able to apply for the part-time specialist medical officer.
The specialist doctors in gynaecology, paediatrics, medicine, skin, orthopaedics and ENT will be able to get apply for the part time specialist doctors’ post.
The health department has also issued a list of urban primary health centres where specialist doctors are required. The health department has issued a list of 245 primary health centres in urban areas, which are reeling under the shortage of specialist doctors. In Jaipur (I), there are 39 such urban PHCs which require specialist doctors.
In Jaipur (II), there are 20 such urban PHCs. Officials said that in winters, the PHCs remain open from 9am to 1pm and from 4pm to 6pm. In summers, they remain open from 8am to 12 noon and from 5 pm to 7pm.
A health department official said that earlier too, the government had decided to pay a certain amount of money to anaesthesia specialist for a visit as in some first referral units (FRUs), there are gynaecologist but there is no anaesthesia specialist. In that situation, a gynaecologist is unable to perform surgery or cesarean section as there is no anaesthesia specialist.
In such FRUs, an anaesthesia specialist gets Rs1000 to Rs1,500 per visit. The health department is now expanding it to other specialists by paying them Rs2,000 per two hours of service in outpatient department of urban PHCs. Officials claimed that it will help improving healthcare services in urban PHCs by providing specialised healthcare services to the patients.