Caution for mass casual leave, total cease work and mass resignations
Dimapur, February 5 (MExN): The Nagaland In-Service Doctor’s Association (NIDA) has called on the State Government to implement its written assurance to increase the retirement age of medical doctors for both administrative and clinical positions.
In case the government fails to implement its written assurance of April 17, 2021, given by the Nagaland Chief Secretary, “all in-service doctors will go for a mass casual leave followed by total cease work and to the extent of mass resignations,” the Association stated in a press release on Saturday.
The development comes after the NIDA executive body held an emergency meeting at Hotel Japfü, Kohima on Saturday with all the district representatives and core committee members on superannuation.
NIDA’s demand on superannuation is based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on May 2016 wherein he announced that the retirement age of all government medical doctors in the country would be raised to 65 years due to acute shortage of medical doctors and to retain experienced doctors for a longer period.
“Accordingly, the Government of India has amended the fundamental rules for the doctors, titled the Fundamental (Second Amendment) Rules 2018; vide Govt order dated, New Delhi, August 11, 2018, G.S.R. 767(E). Taking a cue from the Prime Minister’s announcement almost all the States in the country including our neighbouring north eastern states with similar financial constraints have implemented an increase in the superannuation age of medical doctors,” the NIDA release stated.
In this connection, the NIDA pointed out that the shortfall of MBBS doctors in Nagaland is 326 against the total sanctioned cadre of 511, while there is a shortfall of 13 dental surgeons against 37 sanctioned cadres and 20 AYUSH medical officers as opposed to 27 sanctioned cadres. Another 248 doctors will be required for the two upcoming Medical Colleges at Kohima and Mon, it said, while adding that during the intervening period since the submission of the NIDA’s first memorandum in August 2016; at least 42 doctors have retired from service amidst acute shortage of doctors in the State.
According to NIDA, after a series of discussions and communications between the NIDA and the government at various levels, on April 17, 2021, the government gave a written assurance through the office of the Chief Secretary that “the Government is actively considering the matter relating to the increase in the superannuation age of Medical doctors and offered to resolve the matter within a period not exceeding one year.”
Further, the NIDA release stated that its executive body had meetings with the sub-committee on two occasions and during the last meeting on January 25, 2022, the NIDA had categorically rejected the Government’s proposal for 60 years superannuation age for administrative positions and 62 years superannuation age for clinical positions and explained the various practical problems of its implementation on the ground.
Explaining the perceived problems in implementation of 60 and 62 years for administrative and clinical posts respectively, the NIDA stated that in-service doctors who have been in administrative roles for 5 to 10 years would be compelled to serve in clinical positions in order to remain in service for after attaining the age of 60 years. In this scenario, it said the next lower rung of doctors who are still active clinicians would be forced to take up the resultant vacant administrative post where they have no prior experience. This, it said, would result in further shortage of experienced clinicians at health care delivery points contrary to the primary objective of enhancing the superannuation age and would be counter-productive as doctors who are out of touch with patient care would be looking after the hospitals and those doctors with no prior office work experience would be in charge of administration.
It also highlighted that there are no clinical posts above the Joint Director level in the district hospitals which are the highest clinical establishment in the state. As such, there will be no equivalent post for doctors desiring to revert back to clinical positions on reaching 60 years of age, thereby creating hierarchical issues at hospitals where the head is of Joint director level only.
In this context, the NIDA stated that it rejected the 60 and 62 years formula and instead, suggested that the superannuation age be scaled down to 62 years from the proposed age of 65 for all medical doctors irrespective of clinical or administrative roles to maintain uniformity and smooth practical implementation.
Further, requesting the state government to deliver on its written assurance, the NIDA expressed hope that the government would consider the seriousness and urgency of the issue and solve it within the stipulated assured time frame.
