BY ADITI MISHRA
An expert committee has been set up to review the issue. Its first meeting was on August 31.
The ministry requested three medical institutes in Delhi- Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences, and Lady Hardinge Medical College and attached hospitals to provide data on doctors going on leave.
The hospitals had not provided the data, so a reminder was sent on September 28. On October 28, RML Hospital requested the heads of clinical departments to provide data within two days.
Doctors at government medical colleges have many roles. They provide patients with treatment, carry out surgeries, and provide education to medical students.
This means that if many doctors go on leave at the same time, there may be an increased workload for the rest.
The ministry wants to understand if there are disruptions to normal hospital services when doctors go on leave. Currently, up to 50% of faculty members can be on leave.
The committee will look to understand how many doctors are going on leave and if there is enough staff to manage hospital services.
Doctors at government medical colleges provide education to undergraduate and postgraduate medical students.
They provide education to students, mentorship during hospital training, and help junior doctors learn how to treat patients. They play an important role during practical training and exams.
If senior doctors are going on long periods of leave, students and junior doctors may miss out on learning from them.
The committee will review if there are disruptions to classes, exams, research, and other academic activities.
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Doctors can go on leave during their normal leave period, but can also go on academic leave and on-duty leave. This can be for conferences, research, and training.
This helps doctors develop new skills.
However, the ministry wants to understand if they are gaining anything from going on leave and if it benefits their hospitals and medical college.
They requested institutions to provide data on any research papers, grants, new projects, education, and new medical skills gained by doctors after going on academic leave.
The committee will also want to know if they provide any reports when they return and if hospitals track their activity. There are concerns that some doctors are going on leave for their normal leave, academic leave, and childcare leave. This can result in longer periods of leave.
Sources claimed that one doctor had gone on academic leave almost 100 times over the last 10 years, often going abroad.
This is an allegation and has not been confirmed by official records.
The committee will be looking into leave records to understand how doctors are using their leave and if they are following the rules.
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There has been no announcement that doctors’ leave will be reduced.
The committee is still gathering data from medical institutions. They will look into how doctors’ leave is affecting hospital services, patient care, and medical education. They will then make recommendations.
The main concern is whether there are enough doctors available to treat patients and provide education to medical students.
AM