“Once engagement of skilled labourers for general hospital works is given a thought, the Government can also think about engaging skilled labourers for the local hospital jobs on contractual basis on reduced remuneration.”
True it is that Government may have financial considerations in outsourcing basic hospital jobs for conduct of patient care facilities like sanitation and different office works at district hospitals but growing public concerns over the delivery of public services at the hospitals deserve immediate attention and intervention of the twin Directorates of Health Department of Kashmir and Jammu and as well as the Administrative Secretary of Health and Medical Education Department. While the improvement in public services at the district hospitals is the main motive of outsourcing the hospital jobs, the engagement of skilled labourers instead of unskilled labourers for sanitation and other office works at district hospitals could bring about a change in the delivery of public services at the district hospitals. Once engagement of skilled labourers for general hospital works is given a thought, the Government can also think about engaging skilled labourers for the local hospital jobs on contractual basis on reduced remunerations instead of outsourcing them just to improve the delivery of hospital services to the patients. Since the requirements for hospital jobs like the creations for the posts of medicos and paramedics increases with the increase in the flow of patients year after year at district hospitals, administrative wisdom demands that Government shuns the policy of outsourcing and replaces it with contractual engagements for hospital jobs. Interestingly contractual engagements of skilled labourers by the Government itself would make them more accountable before the hospital authorities as otherwise they are not answerable for their actions directly to the hospital authorities but to the outsourcing agencies.
“While amendments in the guidelines for the outsourcing may clear the decks for engagement of skilled labourers for the purposes of hassle free facilities to the patients at the district hospitals, the change in policy for engagement of skilled labourers from outsourcing to contractual patterns for different patient care facilities at district hospitals may end the mess that has developed due to engagement of unskilled labourers without any institutional and administrative priorities and preferences for the improvement of patient care jobs at the district hospitals” .
The engagement of skilled labourers won’t only improve the sanitation and allied works at the district hospitals but it would also reduce the scope of political and bureaucratic influences in the engagements of hospital jobs through outsourcing agencies at district hospitals and consequently the delivery of public services would surely improve. The engagement of skilled labourers even if used for office works will also directly and indirectly improve the accessibility of patients to certain basic conveniences at the district hospitals. While amendments in the guidelines for the outsourcing may clear the decks for engagement of skilled labourers for the purposes of hassle free facilities to the patients at the district hospitals, the change in policy for engagement of skilled labourers from outsourcing to contractual patterns for different patient care facilities at district hospitals may end the mess that has developed due to engagement of unskilled labourers without any institutional and administrative priorities and preferences for the improvement of patient care jobs at the district hospitals .
