Fulfilling a yet another commitment made to the citizen of the State, The Health and Family Welfare Department has issued appointment letters to 50 Medical Officers and 5 Medical Officer Specialists for its ESI Hospitals and Dispensaries. Similarly for the BBMB run hospitals, the Punjab Government has issued appointment letters for 11 specialist doctors and 9 Medical Officers. With this 31 posts of doctors earmarked for Punjab stand filled up.Disclosing this Mr. Brahm Mohindra, Health Minister, Punjab said that these posts were lying vacant for more than 5 years on account of shortage of doctors in the Health Department. He said that with the appointment on these vacant 55 posts of doctors they have achieved the milestone of cent-percent availability of doctors in ESI hospitals and dispensaries. He said that these posts of doctors and specialists doctors were vacant in the ESI hospitals and dispensaries since long which was the biggest handicap in providing the quality health services to the insured persons of lower income group working in industrial units/establishments.
The Health Minister said that recently the Council of Ministers approved the proposal for filling up vacant posts in ESI Hospitals on contract basis as and when they become vacant. The contractual appointment is initially for one year and is extendable yearwise. He said that the Medical Officer would get monthly remuneration of Rs. 50,000 and Medical Officer (Specialist) Rs. 1 lakh with an annual increase of 3% with this all the posts of Doctors will stand filled up.
He said to meet the urgent need these posts have been filled on contact basis till the regular candidates are available. He said that as and when regular employees would be appointed by the Health Department, the services of contractual employees would be dispensed with.
Mr. Brahm Mohindra said that the Department of Health & Family Welfare has been entrusted with management and administration of 6 ESI hospitals and 69 dispensaries in the state. He said that the Health Department is required to ensure adequate man-power in these ESI hospitals and dispensaries and to provide the medical facilities to the insured persons. He said that the expenditure on running of the ESI hospitals and dispensaries is borne by the State and ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, a statutory enterprise of the Government of India, New Delhi) in the ratio of 1:7 i.e 12.5% is to borne by the State and remaining 87.5% is to borne by ESIC. He said that there are 12.92 lakh persons covered under ESI scheme. Employees drawing monthly pay of less than 21,000 working in industrial unit/establishments having 10 or more persons are covered under this scheme.
The Health Minister further said that The Health Department on May 27, 2019 has issued appointment letters to 20 Medical Officers for BBMB Hospitals at Talwara, Nangal and Sundernagar. Out of them 9 are Medical Officers and 11 are Specialist doctors. They have also been appointed on contract basis at a monthly remuneration of Rs. 50,000 for Medical Officers and Rs. 1 lakh for Specialists. Separate recruitment of BBMB Hospitals was undertaken because not many doctors are willing to go to these remote hospitals. The quota of doctors allotted to Punjab by BBMB is 31 doctors and 11 doctors were already working and with the appointment of these 20 new doctors all the 31 posts earmarked for Punjab stand filled up.