Since the availability of doctors and paramedics has a direct bearing on the working of Government hospitals anywhere in the country and same holds good for both rural and urban hospitals in Jammu & Kashmir, administrative wisdom demands that Government reviews the understaffing in rural hospitals and overstaffing in urban hospitals from time to time for the purposes of improving the working of health care facilities in both rural and urban hospital across Jammu & Kashmir. Though Government has years back embarked on a policy of posting both doctors and paramedics atleast for first five years in rural hospitals immediately after their selection by J&K Public Service Commission (J&K PSC) and J&K Services Selection Board (J&K SSB) respectively but unfortunately most of the transfer orders of doctors and paramedics are modified in short time due to political and bureaucratic interventions not once but several times year after year. Leaving some doctors and paramedics posted in twin capital cities and major towns untouched for years together and shifting their contemporaries prematurely is one of the main causes for understaffing in rural hospitals and overstaffing in urban hospitals. Though doctors and paramedics are at liberty to avail the facility of Government accommodation in the vicinity of their places of posting in almost every hospital in both rural and urban hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir but they unfortunately tend to get their transfer orders modified much before joining their new places of posting or after few months of stay at their new places of postings.
“Uncompromising transfer policy for doctors and paramedics won’t only reduce understaffing in rural hospitals and overstaffing in urban hospitals but it would also consequently improve the delivery of healthcare facilities at rural hospitals which in turn would reduce the increasing stress of referrals on urban hospitals particularly top referral hospitals of the twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu. After all initiatives to enforce the transfers of doctors and paramedics with great determination would go against the spirits of understaffing in rural hospitals and overstaffing in urban hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir”.
It is for the Government to strictly enforce the transfer orders it issues year after year for the purposes of reducing understaffing in rural hospitals and curbing increasing trends of overstaffing in urban hospitals particularly top referral hospitals in twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu. Once transfers of doctors and paramedics are enforced without any compromise by the top brass of health and medical education department, the increasing complaints of understaffing in rural hospitals and overstaffing in urban would be consequently reduced to a greater extent. Uncompromising transfer policy for doctors and paramedics won’t only reduce understaffing in rural hospitals and overstaffing in urban hospitals but it would also consequently improve the delivery of healthcare facilities at rural hospitals which in turn would reduce the increasing stress of referrals on urban hospitals particularly top referral hospitals of the twin capital cities Srinagar and Jammu. After all initiatives to enforce the transfers of doctors and paramedics with great determination would go against the spirits of understaffing in rural hospitals and overstaffing in urban hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir.
