Ban may make doctors give up government service

VISAKHAPATNAM: The

ban

on

private practice

by government

doctors

could well backfire, according to medical experts. This, the experts say is because on the one hand, senior doctors who pursue their own practice may quit their government job and continue private practice and on the other hand, junior doctors may lose interest in government service.

Therefore, the ban on private practice might encourage junior doctors to opt for lucrative private practice instead of corporate hospitals or set up clinics of their own, leading to a further dearth of doctors in government hospitals, experts maintained.

In this context, neurosurgeon Dr MV Vijaya Sekhar referred to numerous instances when several well-known doctors resigned from government service when a ban was imposed on private practive by the NT Rama Rao government in 1985.

“Several well-known doctors quit the service and opened their private practice. Ultimately, the ban had to be revoked on public demand. Will the government be able to cope with the situation if several doctors from teaching hospitals start quitting?” he asked.

Most doctors maintained that curtailing the rights of doctors to practice in their free time will prompt younger medicos to join private hospitals after graduating.

However, Dr Kiran Jyotsna, a senior advisory member of AP Junior Doctor’s Association (APJUDA) stated that if doctors are given good compensation and infrastructure in hospitals improved, then doctors may decide against quitting government service.


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