State may increase retirement age for docs

JAIPUR: The state government is seriously contemplating to raise the retirement age for medical professionals. Currently, medical professionals retire at 60.
"We have veen directed by the Union health ministry to increase the retirment age of medical professionals and are working on it. But it is a high-level policy issue as it involves many departments.The state will have to take a call," said BN Sharma, principal secretary, medical health and family welfare, government of Rajasthan.
The move to increase the retirement age for medical professionals stems from a shortage of staff. "There is an acute shortage of medical professionals in Rajasthan. Next year we will be losing' 35 to 40 % qualified stafferes. Besides, there is also a 45% shortage in junior and senior researchers in the state," Sharma said.
"There are just about six government medical colleges in the state and three in the private sector. But of late, students are not inclined towards medical profession in large numbers. This profession requires students to study for a long time, do internships and specialization thereafter before settling down. As compared to the situation, 15 to 20 years back when there were lakhs of students appearing for the pre-medical test. Last year, in Rajasthan we had just 19,000 students appearing for the test," he said.
Adding to the worries is the quality of medical professionals that are produced. "A large number of medicine graduates that we are getting these days for the PHCs are not able to confirm even after a blood test if the blood sample has malaria strains or not. The problem is that these days during graduation the student is more concerned about his post-graduation studies. this is hampering the quality of education," Sharma said.
According to Sharma, the state is working on certain plans for not only motivating professionals but to ensure that the common man benefits from these schemes.
"Primarily, we are working on a transparent placement policy to ensure that the few medical professionals that we have remain motivated even if they get a rural posting. We are working on it and am sure it will help motivate medical professionals," he said.
The policy will be primarily targeted at those medical professionals who feel that a rural posting is more of a punishment posting and as a result, shirk work.
The infant and maternal mortality rates and population stabilisation are typical challenges for north Indian states. In Rajasthan, we have started computer tracking of pregnant women and also of children to ensure their immunisation. "Currently, there are 18 lakh pregnant women and 9 lakh children are being tracked in the state," he said.