To provide better health facilities to farmers who reside in drought-prone areas in the state, the public health department, for the first time, is going to record attendance of doctors practising in these areas via a biometric system to avoid any irregularities.
Moreover, to address the shortage of doctors in these areas, the state health department is going to hire doctors after conducting walk-in-interviews. The appointments would be held at 14 areas that are prone to droughts: Aurangabad, Jalna, Parbhani, Hingoli, Beed, Nanded, Osmanabad, Lathur, Buldhana, Akola, Washim, Amravati, Yatvatmal and Latur.
“All the appointed candidates need to stay at the place of appointment and have to get their biometrics registered. This will help in tracking their working days online from our server so chances of absenteeism or mismanagement will be minimalised,” said an officer from the public health department.
The post will be open to graduate and postgraduate students.
“Most of the public health centres are laying vacant as no doctors want to practice here due to the drought. Even for treatment of fever or cough, we have to travel to the district hospitals. We need more doctors as often health also becomes an important issue that forces farmers to commit suicide,” said Jayaji Suryavanshi, an activist working for farmers’ rights in Aurangabad.
As activists have claimed, many hospitals or public health centres are facing shortage of doctors. Even though doctors are hired, they skip it and get enrolled in private hospitals for better salary. “Many a time, official documents state that doctors are present, but when we visit the health centre, we find that doctors have been absent for years. They work as ghost doctors and patients suffer especially in drought-prone areas where they are needed,” said Dr Abijit More from Jan Swasthya Abhiyan, an NGO working for right to health in rural areas of the state. “The biometric machines will help us bring better transparency in the system,” said the officer.
The Peripheral Health Care Centre, which doesn’t have even a single doctor, would be first preference in the recruitment process then the public health centres that has only one doctor. Advertisements will be placed in all these areas with the time of appointment and requirements. District officers will head the interview panels.
