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Health

Senior Vets express intrigue at govt's indifference toward doctors' demands

PUNJAB NEWS EXPRESS | July 31, 2021 10:34 PM

MOHALI: The Senior Vets association at a meeting held here today strongly condemned the Punjab government for dilly dailying on the issue of Non Practicing Allowance(NPA) to Government Medical, Veterinary, Dental, Ayurvedic and Homeopathic doctors who have forged a joint Government Doctors coordination committee to press the government to restore 25% NPA and to make it a part of salary for calculation of all other allowances.

Former Joint Director Animal Husbandry and member Punjab State Veterinary Council Dr Gurinder Singh Walia averred that Health, education and infrastructure development are the three sectors which ought to be focussed by any developing nation. The state is spending just 4% of the total GDP on health which is lower than average allocation for the health for states (5.5%). In health sector, the focus has to be on infrastructure development, sufficient availability of medicines, diagnostic facilities and ample physicians, specialists and super specialists so as to provide quality health care to the majority of the state who well nigh afford to avail services at private multi speciality hospitals.

Dr Walia added that the recent pandemic has laid bare the poor medical services and health infrastructure available in the country. With the country having a population above 135 crores, such biological pandemics in the future are bound to surface because of the havoc we are playing with nature.

Hence, incentives should be given to doctors, specialists and super specialists in order to attract the best talent to government sector, instead of making savings by pay cut on doctors. Otherwise they are bound to leave government jobs and move to private sector or abroad, where avenues of professional growth, more perks and better infrastructure is available for mental satisfaction. Indian veterinarians, medical doctors and dentists in USA, Canada, Australia and other countries are well established and making their name and fame in their respective countries.
By incentivising the government doctors, not only brain drain would be arrested but also make able doctors available in the state to serve the public, he added.

Dr Nitin Kumar former Chief Executive Officer Punjab Gau Sewa Commission stated that government doctors and veterinarians felt cheated , as during the ongoing covid pandemic, they worked with great dedication and devotion even at the cost of their health and putting to exposure their families also to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

Dr Sanjeev Khosla former Director Animal Husbandry Punjab quipped that in the prevailing scenario, under 'one health programme' , Veterinary and Medical doctors have a crucial role to play and are supposed to form Joint strategies and programmes to contain and combat the spread of emerging new diseases globally. The 'one health' approach is critical to addressing health threats in Animal, human and environment interface.

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