Telangana: General transfers trigger disgruntlement among government doctors

The general transfers that are being taken-up in the health department has left the community of government doctors in Telangana State disgruntled. A large section of doctors express their frustration over the ambiguity surrounding the process of transferring government doctors in the State.

Hyderabad: The general transfers that are being taken-up in the health department has left the community of government doctors in Telangana State disgruntled. A large section of doctors are expressing their frustration over the ambiguity surrounding the process of transferring government doctors in the State.

At present, there are no proper guidelines/directions to ensure government doctors, especially those who have been discharging their duties in peripheral regions (away from urban centres) for decades, are treated fairly/equally with their counterparts in urban centres.

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A committee composed of senior health officials, established by the State government to address these difficulties and frame transfer guidelines is yet to submit its report. Despite the lack of guidelines, the State government is pushing through the process of transfers from Tuesday, senior health faculty familiar with the issue, said.

“There is a definite need to undertake general transfers in government hospitals. However, this process should have some parity. A government doctor working in a far-off healthcare facility in Nizamabad or Nirmal must also get an opportunity to opt his/her choice, just like a government doctor at OGH in Hyderabad or Kakatiya Medical College in Warangal. Transfers should be balanced, systematic, fair and transparent,” says Dr.Kiran Madala, secretary general, Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA).

The general transfers are least likely to benefit those doctors who have been working for decades in highly challenging teaching hospitals. About 7 to 8 years ago, nearly 300 to 400 such doctors, consisting of Professors, Associate and Assistant Professors were posted to new teaching hospitals.

“However, they will never get an opportunity to exercise their transfer options because priority will be given to doctors in urban centres like Warangal and Hyderabad. How will you attract new talent in districts, if you don’t give priority to the present senior faculty, who have been working in districts for decades?” TTGDA said.

There are a large number of couples who are both doctors and working in government teaching hospitals in Hyderabad and other major urban centres for decades. Gender based norms dictate that female doctors must be provided some protection and priority. As a result, posting and transfers of both husband and wife government doctors are usually taken-up in the same districts. Moreover, women doctors are not posted too far and in isolated locations.

Then there is the issue of super-specialty government doctors in Hyderabad and Warangal, who if transferred, then the teaching hospital could lose PG medical seats. As a result, such doctors end-up working for decades in Hyderabad.

Doctors and Transfers:

• General transfers among doctors in government hospital triggers anger/disgruntlement

• Proper guidelines to take-up transfers yet to be finalized

• Peripheral doctors with decades of experience given no priority

• 40 percent of the doctors in a hospital are to be transferred

• Spousal privileges/super-specialty status enables senior doctors to stay in Hyderabad for a long time

• Associations representing doctors allege transfers being taken without proper guidelines

• Senior faculty in districts end-up working for decades before considered for posts in urban centres

• There are nearly 300 senior faculty in peripheral regions who might not benefit from general transfers