PG courses: PCMS docs allowed admission to pvt colleges

FARIDKOT: In an attempt to cope with a shortage of doctors in community health centres (CHCs) and civil hospitals in the state, the Health and Family Welfare Department has changed the norms for the admission of the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) doctors to postgraduate (PG) courses in private medical institutions.

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 24

In an attempt to cope with a shortage of doctors in community health centres (CHCs) and civil hospitals in the state, the Health and Family Welfare Department has changed the norms for the admission of the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) doctors to postgraduate (PG) courses in private medical institutions.

Earlier, the PCMS doctors were eligible for getting admission to PG course only in three government medical colleges. But this time, the PCMS doctors, who have qualified the NEET PG -2018 and are not availing any incentive of their service in rural areas, have been allowed to get admission to private medical colleges.

The Health Department has issued no objection certificate (NOC) to 94 PCMS doctors allowing them to take admission to any medical college in the state. In all, 16 of these doctors have got admission to PG courses in private medical colleges.

A PCMS doctor, who has completes four years of service in a very difficult area or six years in difficulty area or the appropriate combination of both, is given an incentive of up to 30 per cent of marks of his or her score in NEET PG-2018. However, the PCMS doctors availing 30 per cent of the incentive are eligible for admission only to government medical college in the state.

In case, a PCMS doctor does not avail the incentive and is competing in the open merit on the basis of his score in the NEET PG-2018, he or she is now eligible for admission to any private or government medical college.

However, PCMS doctors, who are availing the incentive of 30 per cent marks, are also bound to give a surety bond of Rs 15-lakh for the Health Department for minimum five years after completion of the PG course.

In this way, all PCMS doctors will serve at CHCs and civil hospitals in the state for minimum five year as a specialist and it will help the Health Department tide over the shortage of doctors in these hospitals to some extent, said a senior official of the Health Department.

The Health Department has been facing a shortage of doctors particularly in radiology, anesthesia and pediatrics for a long time in the state. Of the total 133 sanctioned posts of pediatrics in government hospitals in the state, only 40 seats are filled.

To fill the vacant posts, the Health Department had even taken these posts out of the PPSC preview some time ago. The department is now conducting a monthly walk-in interview to fill these vacancies, but over 300 posts are still lying vacant.