One-year compulsory rural posting for doctors proposed: Ramadoss

New Delhi, Sep 22 (UNI) To alleviate the acute shortage of medical personnel in various parts of the country, the Health and Family Welfare Ministry has proposed a draft bill for a one-year compulsory rural posting of doctors after internship.

The proposed legislation, which will be submitted to the Union Cabinet for its approval next month, is expected to bridge the yawning gap of doctors under the ambitious National Rural Health Mission launched last year, Union Family and Health Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told newspersons here today.

Dr Ramadoss said the step was being contemplated for some time now to tide over the lack of doctors in villages and districts.

About 28,000 medical graduates who pass out from various medical colleges including private colleges every year will mandatorily undergo one year's rural posting before they get a permanent registration.

Pointing to the inadequate rural infrastructure, Dr Ramadoss said, ''75 per cent of the doctors prefer to practice in the towns and cities whereas 75 per cent of the population reside in the villages.'' The move is aimed at augmenting limited human resources to man the rural health infrastructure suffering from shortage of doctors and specialists among others.

He said that according to the legislation a doctor after finishing internship would be given temporary registration to work in rural areas and only after that a doctor would get permanent registration.

During their rural posting, doctors will receive a stipend from the state government where they will be posted.

The proposal was among the various recommendations which came up during the second meeting of the Mission Steering Group of the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) chaired by the Minister this morning.

Doubling of mothers' package from Rs 700 to Rs 1,400 to encourage institutional delivery under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), stepping up of the intra-uterine device (IUD) and sterilisation programmes as also a Rs 1 crore grant for 180 district headquarter hospitals in NHRM states and all in the Northeast region were among the other proposals which had been approved for implementation, Dr Ramadoss announced.

Describing the NHRM as the biggest post-Independence initiative to target rural healthcare at the grassroot level, Dr Ramadoss said it would be another two years before the results show, especially in the Northeast.

The steering group will meet next month to take stock of the situation.

Dr Ramadoss said a three pronged accountability would be introduced through community based monitoring, external service and internal monitoring.

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