Govt accepts Chaudhury's remedy for CHS ills

Central health services (CHS) and autonomous institutions like the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, which have been reeling under an exodus of discontented doctors to the private sector, may get relief.

The Centre today announced acceptance of 90 per cent of the recommendations of a panel set up to look into their problems.

The recommendations of the Javed Chaudhury Committee include creation of as many as 458 posts in the top level senior administrative grade, which is equivalent to the post of the joint secretary in non-health services. This will mean as many immediate and automatic promotions as per the report.

The committee has also recommended a jump in the retirement age from 60 to 62 years in CHS and in autonomous bodies like the AIIMS, from 62 to 65 years. This was in keeping with the guidelines of the department of personnel for scientific and technical staff, Chaudhury said.

The committee has also recommended encouragement of academic research and publication through monetary rewards. This will involve rewards of a minimum of Rs 10,000 for a single publication in a reputed journal. The amount could go up to Rs 1 lakh, depending on the number of publications, it said.

Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told reporters today that 90 per cent of the recommendations would be implemented. He also announced a panel to look into the user charges being levied at the AIIMS. "The panel comprises 8-10 members including representatives of the AIIMS faculty association," Ramadoss said.

It would look into user charges and their modules, he said adding the report would be available in 15-20 days. The institute has been facing opposition by its faculty since it levied new user charges in November 2005.

Former Health Secretary Chaudhury, who headed the committee set up in September 2005 to look into exodus of medical professionals from central health services and institutions like the AIIMS and the PGI said the more alarming rates of attrition are from the CHS, which was 112 out of 1,600 in five years.

He said the rate of attrition from AIIMS was 27 out of 495 between 2001 and 2005.

Chaudhury committee recommendations, however, take into account the grouse of researchers in these bodies. It has said research will be rewarded as the government will share the consultancy fee with the doctor as an incentive to further research.

Doctors will also be allowed to go abroad to advance their professional and academic skills once in five years, provided they meet the eligibility norms like having a paper that is accepted.

While doctors will be able to publish and travel, they will also be required to be more accountable when they go abroad. Doctors going abroad will be required to inform the authorities rather than disappear indefinitely.

As a deterrent to such behaviour, the panel has recommended that the doctors furnish a bond three times more than their annual emoluments each time they go abroad and this will be encashed by the government if the doctor chooses not to come back.

Chaudhary said the committee, however, failed to address the main reason for discontent in autonomous institutions which was dissatisfaction with the administration. That is an internal matter to be sorted out by various autonomous bodies themselves, he said.