The Hindu 19.12.2013
Private doctors to staff Corpn. clinics in evenings
Chennai Corporation is planning to use the services of
private doctors to man its hospitals in the evening. This is part of an
initiative to outsource medical services by the Corporation.
According
to the new proposal, private doctors in neighbourhoods will be
permitted to use the hospital buildings of the Chennai Corporation to
offer free medical services in such evening clinics. “Over 30 per cent
of the doctors’ posts remain vacant. New doctors are reluctant to join
Chennai Corporation hospitals. So we will outsource it to private
agencies who will manage doctors at the clinics,” said the official.
Pharmacists
and nurses at the hospitals will however be managed by the Chennai
Corporation with medicines also being supplied free.
“Most
of those belonging to the working class are unable to visit Corporation
hospitals during the day while Corporation doctors are at work only
during the day. They cannot be persuaded to work in the evening.
So the plan to outsource such requirements to private agencies will improve the services.
The doctors will offer the same services but will not be employed with Chennai Corporation permanently,” said the official.
The
success of the initiative will help tackle the problem of large number
of vacancies of doctors’ posts in Corporation hospitals.
The civic body has been trying to set up evening clinics to serve poor people but has not succeeded so far.
The
evening clinics will benefit more than 18 lakh residents in 2,500 slums
in the city. A number of poor residents are forced to spend thousands
of rupees on primary healthcare in private hospitals.
The
Chennai Corporation has identified gaps in the existing public
healthcare system with a baseline survey pointing to issues such as
inequitable spatial distribution of facilities with multiple service
providers, unsuitable timings and overload on tertiary healthcare
institutions.