Ahmedabad
Mirror: Ahmedabad: Saturday, 13 December 2014.
Already
lagging behind many states on human development index, medical graduates'
refusal to serve in rural areas despite signing bond only drags the state. The
state's largest medical college, BJ, which was expected to show the way has
proved to be a big defaulter on this front: three out of four students refused
to serve the mandatory stint in rural hospitals last year. The trend has been
dismal with almost 900 students washing their hands off from the duty to serve
the needy patients in rural areas since 2010. Response to an RTI application
revealed that only 61 of the 250 MBBS students took up the responsibility to
serve the mandatory stint in rural hospitals in 2013. In 2012, 175 students refused
to take up the compulsory service.
MANY GO
SCOT-FREE
Medical
students in government-run public-funded medical colleges sign a bond for Rs 5
lakh at the time of admission. When they refuse to serve in rural areas, they
are supposed to pay the amount to their respective colleges. However, only 17
per cent paid the amount as compensation for opting out of the bond in 2013. If
calculated, more than Rs 9 crore should have been collected as compensation
from 189 students. However as the response to RTI application clearly revealed,
only Rs 1.63 crore was collected from 33students who refused to serve the bond.
CAREER
OVER NEEDY PATIENTS
Many students
after completing graduation prefer going abroad for higher studies so they
don't mind paying Rs 5 lakh as compensation. In 2011, speaking in the state
assembly, the then health minister Jaynarayan Vyas said that the government
recovered Rs 11.49 crore from doctors for breaching the bond to go abroad for
studies.
NO
INFRASTRUCTURE
Many medical
experts highlight the need to update the infrastructure at rural hospitals to
encourage young graduates to opt for rural sojourn. "Before sending any
junior doctor to a remote rural hospital, the government should provide proper
infrastructure and medical support system. The doctors don't shy away from
rural areas. Their problems need to be addressed properly," said Dr
Rajnish Patel, professor of general surgery at BJ Medical College and president
of Gujarat Medical Teachers Association (GMTA). "Besides, most of the MBBS
students aspire for master's programme. After completing MBBS they have to
prepare for entrance test for MS and MD and this tops their priority," Dr
Patel added.
NEED FOR
MORE MOTIVATION
In a study
published inHuman Resource Health, Bhaskar Purohit highlighting the same issue
stated, "Despite many efforts from the government to address the shortage
of medical officers (MOs) in rural areas, rural health centres continue to
suffer from severe shortage of medical officers. Lack of motivation to join and
continue service in rural areas is a major reason for such shortage."
Talking to Mirror, Dr Nitin S Vora, Gujarat Medical Council (GMC) president,
said that the junior doctors needed to be made more aware of the needs of the
patients in rural areas. "Doctors need to feel more responsible and
sensitive," he said. "Health department has identified several
hospitals which require doctors and the colleges are supposed to send their
students accordingly. In fact, junior doctors are also paid an incentive amount
for serving in rural hospitals," he said.
NEED FOR
MORE STRINGENT RULES
Anil Mukim,
principal secretary in the health and family welfare department, denied the
allegation that the rural health centres lacked physical infrastructure and
said that junior doctors were provided with staff quarters with adequate
infrastructure. Insisting that all facilities are extended to them, Mukim also
laid emphasis on the need for stringent rules to make it compulsory for doctors
to serve the bond after their course. "We are looking into the matter and
planning to make more stringent rules so that doctors can't avoid rural
stint," he added.
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