In a bid to meet the growing demand for doctors in the state, the public health committee has submitted a proposal to the commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to extend the tenure of mandatory bond service. As per the proposal, the committee has demanded to increase the current one-year bond to three years. While getting admitted for MBBS, PG or diploma in any branch of medical courses in state or civic-run medical colleges, students need to sign a bond promising to serve in rural areas for a year after completing their course, or else, they would have to pay a fine of '10 lakh for MBBS and '50 lakh for PG or diploma. “Despite this, there has been a shortage of doctors in hospitals across the state. Only 10-20 per cent of the doctors who sign the bonds actually follow it. Hence, we have sent a proposal to the commissioner to recommend it to higher authority,” said Sunita R. Yadav, president of the public health committee.
The government spends around '6 lakh for every medical student studying in a state or civic-run medical college. “Till a doctor becomes a specialist, he keeps postponing the rural posting under the bond. And when he comes a specialist, we can’t post him to a rural primary health centre,” Dr Satish Pawar, health director, Maharashtra had said, while answering a query at the public hearing on medical negligence held at TISS.
In the past 10 years, the government had collected Rs 40 crore as fine from medical students who refused to serve in rural areas.
However, medical students mainly blame lack of facilities that discourage them from honouring the bond. Dr Sagar Mundada, president of MARD, said, “If the bond tenure is extended to three years after the MBBS course, students will lose link with studies that might affect their post-graduation studies. More students will then prefer private colleges, raising fees of medical studies.”
