Telangana amends rulebook, bans govt doctors from private practice

Hyderabad: The state government on Tuesday issued orders banning newly-hired doctors in government hospitals from engaging in private practice. While health officials, in April this year, had hinted at the possibility of such a rule being rolled out, they have now made it official with the release of the 'Amendment to Telangana Medical Education Services Rules'.

This specifies that all specialist and super-specialist doctors from directly-appointed clinical and non-clinical departments as well as doctors on transfer from non-teaching departments will not be allowed to practice privately.

"Henceforth, there shall be a total ban on private practice for the doctors recruited through direct recruitment and doctors filled by transfer from non-teaching side, recruited after the issue of this notification," the order read.

This ban will also apply to doctors who join the post of civil assistant surgeon with MBBS qualification in the department of public health as well as specialist civil assistant surgeons. In all, doctors are being recruited to fill positions across 18 specialist posts in the clinical department.

Students who have completed MD or DNB are also eligible for these posts and require experience of working as a senior resident for one year after completing MD.

The latest move, meanwhile, attracted severe criticism from doctors. Terming it unfair, many said that the ban should not have been imposed considering that the government pays them very low wages. "We are ready to work at any primary health centre or community health centre provided the government provides us with the basic facilities. Rather than the government asking us to stop practising outside, we request it to provide us salaries that are on a par with central institutes and NIMS," said Vanya Jasmine, general secretary, TJUDA.

Many said that it was time for them to take their career outside the country. "It is clear that the government does not want direct recruitment. Who will join for 70,000 and with a ban on private practice. It is better for doctors to go abroad," rued a doctor.