Punjab set to face med staff shortage

Punjab set to face med staff shortage

7,500 Medicos To Be Relieved By Sept 30

Vinod.Kumar3@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:22.06.2020

Already struggling to cope with limited availability of human resources in the fight against Covid-19, the Punjab government is staring at possible acute shortage of manpower as about 7,500 medical professionals on extension will be relieved by September  30. 

Though the Punjab government is confident of filling the posts falling vacant before the medical professionals on extension are relieved of their duties, it seems an uphill task there is only three-month time to complete the recruitment process, which has not even yet started.

The recruitment process will kick start after getting a nod from the state cabinet, which is scheduled to meet next week. Earlier this year, the state government had abolished the provision of granting two-year extension in service due to financial crunch. Keeping in mind staff shortage and to effectively control the coronavirus outbreak, the cabinet had decided to grant extension in service to doctors and paramedic staff till September 7 30, which included about 150 doctors.

As the government is left with little time at hand, a delegation of the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) had last week held a meeting with health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu with a request to fill the posts at earliest and not to grant extension to retiring staff. PCMSA, a body which represents government doctors, fears that the government might not be able to complete the recruitment process in time. “Recruitment is a lengthy process as it involves several steps right from advertising posts, inviting applications, shortlisting of potential candidates and interviews,” said president of PCMSA Dr Gagandeep Singh. The process should have been initiated after the decision to grant sixmonth extension was granted, he added.

Sidhu, on the other hand, sounded confident about filling all the posts before September 30. “After getting approval from the cabinet, the recruitment will be complete well before medical professionals on extension are relieved on September 30,” said Sidhu.

Punjab is facing a rapid rise in the number of Covid-19 and due to limited resources the existing staff members and doctors engaged in the fight against coronavirus are already overstretched. Against the sanctioned strength of 2,340 MMBS doctors, there are about 2,100 doctors. Only about 150 posts of specialists doctors — surgeons, gynaecologists, physicians and paediatricians — are filled out of 496 sanctioned posts. To overcome the shortage, around 750 doctors of rural department are working with the health department, while about 450 ayurveda doctors are also at the disposal of the health department.

The government has also decided to use the services of rural and ayush doctors in sample collection.The health department has also roped in qualified volunteers. Around 30,000 qualified health professionals, including 1,000 doctors, have volunteered to assist the Punjab government, giving much needed push to the overstretched workforce in the time of need.

Help staff in recouping

A high-powered committee of experts constituted by the government had called for the need to take steps for helping the medical staff overcome fatigue due to long duty hours amongst infected patients and emotional trauma.

ரேஷன் கார்டுதாரர்களின் வீடுகளில் இன்று முதல் ரூ. 1000 வழங்கல்

ரேஷன் கார்டுதாரர்களின் வீடுகளில் இன்று முதல் ரூ. 1000 வழங்கல்

Added : ஜூன் 21, 2020 22:33

சென்னை; முழு ஊரடங்கு அமலாகியுள்ள பகுதிகளில் வசிக்கும், ரேஷன் கார்டுதாரர்களின் வீடுகளுக்கே சென்று, 1,000 ரூபாய் நிவாரண தொகை வழங்கும் பணி, இன்று துவங்குகிறது.

தமிழகத்தில், மார்ச் இறுதியில் ஊரடங்கு அமல்படுத்தப்பட்டதால், மக்களின் வாழ்வாதாரம் பாதிக்கப்பட்டது. இதனால், ஏப்ரலில், 2.01 கோடி அரிசி ரேஷன் கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கு, தலா, 1,000 ரூபாய் ரொக்கத்துடன், அத்தியாவசிய பொருட்கள் இலவசமாக வழங்கப்பட்டன.

அதில், 2.50 லட்சம் கார்டுதாரர்கள் நிவாரண தொகை வாங்கவில்லை. மே மற்றும் இம்மாதம், அனைத்து கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கும், அத்தியாவசிய பொருட்கள் இலவசமாக வழங்கப்பட்டு வருகின்றன. சென்னை மற்றும் புறநகரில், தொற்று பரவல் அதிகம் உள்ளது.

அதனால், சென்னை காவல் எல்லைக்கு உட்பட்ட இடங்கள், திருவள்ளூர், காஞ்சிபுரம், செங்கல்பட்டு மாவட்டங்களில், சில பகுதிகளில், இம்மாதம், 19ம் தேதி முதல் வரும், 30ம் தேதி வரை, தமிழக அரசு, முழு ஊரடங்கை அமல்படுத்தியுள்ளது. இதனால், அந்த பகுதிகளில் வசிக்கும், 21.83 லட்சம் அரிசி கார்டுதாரர்களுக்கு, தலா, 1,000 ரூபாய் நிவாரணம் வழங்க, அரசு உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.

ரேஷன் கடைகளில் வழங்கினால், கார்டுதாரர்கள், சமூக இடைவெளியை கடைப்பிடிக்க மாட்டார்கள் என்பதால், அவர்களின் வீடுகளுக்கே சென்று, ரேஷன் ஊழியர்கள் இன்று முதல் நிவாரண தொகையை வழங்க உள்ளனர். இதற்கான அனைத்து ஏற்பாடும் தயாராக உள்ளது. இன்று துவங்கி, வரும், 26ம் தேதி வரை, காலை, 8:00 முதல் மாலை, 6:00 மணி வரை நிவாரணம் வழங்கப்படும். இதனால், முழு ஊரடங்கு அமலில் உள்ள பகுதிகளில் இருக்கும் ரேஷன் கடைகளுக்கு, 22ம் தேதி முதல், 26ம் தேதி வரை விடுமுறை.

Get parents’ nod for dental exams, Nair students told

Get parents’ nod for dental exams, Nair students told

Mumbai: 22.06.2020

Final-year students from Nair Dental College have been asked to get consent forms signed by their parents to take the exams currently scheduled July 16-22 from the Mumbai Central campus.

The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences had allowed students to opt for a centre close to home, but of the 40 outstation students, only two opted for it. The college is a Covid-19 care centre. The Maharashtra Students’ Union has written to the governor, CM and medical education minister demanding action against the college. But acting dean Dr Freny Karjodkar said: We...are taking utmost care...when students appear for exams. But we wanted to make sure parents are aware that students had the option of appearing for the exam in their hometown and still decided to come here. The consent isn’t a way to shirk responsibility.” TNN

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10,554 students take Jipmer PG entrance examination

10,554 students take Jipmer PG entrance examination

Results on or before June 27

22/06/2020

Jipmer conducted the PG entrance examination for admission to MD/MS/MDS and PDF/PDCC courses for the July 2020 session on Sunday in 133 centres across 105 cities, including five in Puducherry.

A total of 10,554 out of 16,357 (65%) registered candidates appeared for 127 MD/MS/MDS seats and 222 out of 318 (69%) registered candidates appeared for 22 PDF/PDCC seats., a Jipmer press note said.

Considering the COVID-19 situation, Jipmer was made the command centre with live streaming from all examination centres. TCS provided the technical support for holding the examination.

Iris scanners were used to capture biometric information of all the candidates and the entire entrance examination process was video recorded.

The candidates’ requests for change of examination centres were accepted till the day prior to the examination. The entrance examination results will be declared on or before June 27 on the Jipmer website (www.jipmer.edu.in) and will also be posted on the notice board at the Jipmer Academic Centre.

Court orders government to conduct probe on hospital

Court orders government to conduct probe on hospital

22/06/2020

The Delhi High Court has ordered a probe against Primus Super Speciality Hospital in Chanakyapuri for allegedly denying admission to a disabled woman, despite its website showing availability of beds for COVID-19 patients. Noting that the allegations was of “a grave nature”, Justice Navin Chawla ordered the Delhi government to take appropriate action in case the hospital was found to have ‘derogated in its duty in any manner’.

The order came while hearing a plea by a man complaining that his wife died due to COVID-19 on June 14.

Asked to shift

The man said his daughter who is 34-years-old and is 85% disabled, started suffering from fever and breathlessness. As her condition worsened, she was admitted to the Primus Super Speciality Hospital on June 18.

While it was suspected that she was also suffering from COVID-19, the hospital did not carry out any test and in fact, taking an excuse that there was non-availability of beds, asked the petitioner to shift her to another hospital, the plea said.

After filing the plea, the man was able to admit his daughter to Max Super Speciality Hospital in Saket.

Students oppose move

Students oppose move

22/06/2020

A group of students from Anna University’s College of Engineering (Guindy) has appealed to the Governor of Tamil Nadu to stop Greater Chennai Corporation’s proposal to takeover the institution’s hostels and make them COVID-19 care centres.

The students highlighted that since they left the hostel in a hurry soon after the announcement of lockdown, they had left their valuable belongings in the rooms. These included original certificates, research reports and laptops.

The university administration had expressed its hesitation in handing over all its hostel blocks. Its Knowledge Park academic complex and the yet-to-be inaugurated hostel building for postgraduate students have already been taken over for use as quarantine facilities.