STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The doctor-patient ratio in the state is not satisfactory. The situation turns for the worse when a section of professors and doctors of medical colleges avails every government holiday and leaves their stations for home. This practice makes patients bear the brunt.
The situation has come to such a pass that the authorities of two medical colleges and hospitals had to write to the Health Department on doctors' unauthorized leave. According to sources, the letter to the Health Department says that a section of professors and doctors of medical colleges and hospitals habitually leave for their homes on second and fourth Saturdays and other government holidays. Barring Sundays, OPDs (outpatients departments) and OTs (Operation Theatres) remain open for patients. In emergencies, OTs open on Sundays also.
Taking a cue from professors and doctors, other staff members also leave for homes on such holidays.
The government made compulsory evening shifts of doctors and other staff members to attend to general patients in district hospitals and medical colleges. However, general patients hardly get doctors in the evening. Of course, emergency services remain open at night.
The State government has 3,038 doctors against 4,420 sanctioned posts.
A senior Health Department official said, "We have taken the issue of a section of doctors leaving their stations seriously. To bridge the wide doctor-patient gap, we are setting up new medical colleges in the state. To make doctors stay at their respective stations, we provide them with residential quarters.
"The doctor-patient ratio in the state has been improving for the past few years. The number of MBBS seats all over the country is 83,000 in the government sector. Many students go abroad for medical courses. MBBS degree holders from abroad have to face a mandatory test to obtain their licences to practice in India. As many as 12,680 MBBS degree holders faced the mandatory test in 2020. Likewise, 4,313 MBBS degree holders from Russia, 4,260 from Ukraine, 3,200 from Kyrgyzstan, etc., took the mandatory test in that year."
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