“Private practice by doctors badly hits the delivery of healthcare facilities in Government hospitals and as such needs to be curbed for the purposes of improving the delivery of health care services at Government hospitals”
Private practice by doctors working in Government hospitals is central to health sector reforms in Jammu & Kashmir like other parts of the country. Notably the Government has in March this year constituted a high-level advisory committee to scrutinise private practice by doctors working in Government hospitals and also recommend reforms in the health sector. The Committee headed by the Founding Director of S K Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Srinagar Dr Ajit Nagpal also includes notable personalities from the medical fraternity including Executive Director of the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Dr Atul Kotwal; Director of Coordination for New Government Medical Colleges in J&K, Dr Yashpal, and former Medical Superintendent of PGIMER Chandigarh, Dr Anil Kumar. The composition of the committee itself shows the concern of the Government for reducing the bad trends and tendencies of private practice by doctors of Government hospitals and improving the delivery of health facilities at Government hospitals. While private practice by doctors badly hits the delivery of healthcare facilities in Government hospitals and as such needs to be curbed for the purposes of improving the delivery of health care services at Government hospitals, optimising service conditions of Government doctors is central to reforms in health sector .Several decisions taken in decades of popular rule against the bad trends of private practice by government doctors could not be implemented due to conflict in interests amng the stakeholders. So a consensus among the stakeholders could be key to resolution of conflicts over private practice of Government doctors and beginning of reforms in J&K’s health sector.
“Since the committee headed by Dr Ajit Nagpal has been asked to submit its recommendations to the government every quarter and submit therein comprehensive overview of proposed measures, advancements, and priorities within the Health and Medical Education sector, the road map for reforms in health and medical education sector could be ready only by march end next year and thereafter reforms in public health sector could begin in Jammu & Kashmir.”
While improving the healthcare infrastructural facilities and raising the staff strength at Government hospitals does not evoke any conflict among the stakeholders and as such there is no major dispute over matters like integration of different medical systems, human resource rationalisdation and technology interventions, the consensus over any decision on private practice by doctors of Government hospitals remains a contentious issue for the committee headed by Dr Ajit Nagpal. The committee appointed for a term of one year for proposing reforms in the healthcare system has still about nine months to scrutinise the bad trends of private practice by doctors of Government hospitals and recommend counter measures for the purposes of improving the delivery of health services at Government hospitals. Since the committee headed by Dr Ajit Nagpal has been asked to submit its recommendations to the government every quarter and submit therein comprehensive overview of proposed measures, advancements, and priorities within the Health and Medical Education sector, the road map for reforms in health and medical education sector could be ready only by march end next year and thereafter reforms in public health sector could begin in Jammu & Kashmir.
