Medicos with PG diplomas oppose promotion of govt resident docs

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  10.04.2018

Chennai: The Madras high court on Monday ordered notice to the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the state government on a plea assailing MCI’s notification bringing doctors with MD/MS degrees eligible for the post of senior residents in the broad speciality as well as super speciality categories in government service.
The first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose ordered a notice returnable by April 13 on the PIL moved by Dr G Jaysiya of Kalappa Naicken Patti village in Namakkal.

Jaysiya had completed a diploma in Medical Radiology Diagnosis and is presently working as Senior Resident in Radio Diagnosis in Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital.

According to the petitioner, there are three major departments in government service. DMS primarily consists of services in rural taluks, district headquarters and ESI. DPH, consists of primary health centres including urban and rural. The last one is DME, which consists of purely academic service attached to medical colleges and hospitals. Doctors with MBBS and PG diploma specialisation are initially posted in DPH and then placed in DME as tutor subsequently promoted as senior resident, the petitioner said.

Similarly, doctors with MD and MS are posted in other departments except DME. While so the MCI on June 5, 2017 issued a notification modifying the Rules and paving way for MD/MS doctors to be appointed in DME as well.

Claiming that the move would affect the prospects of PG diploma doctors, the petitioner said, “There are about 5000 doctors across the state working in government service. In that about 700 are PG diploma holder along with MBBS and are exclusively posted in vacancies in directorate of medical education as tutors and promoted as senior residents.’ When the state government attempted to appoint such MD doctors in DME, diploma doctors approached the high court in 2017 in which the government allegedly assured that such appointments would be made only in unfilled vacancies and currently serving diploma doctors would not be disturbed.

But now, apprehending that the government would once again try to disturb their peaceful service armed with the MCI notification, the petitioner has approach the high court to quash the same.