Srinagar: The health and medical education department has proposed a blanket ban on private practice of doctors including those working in district hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir from next month, Kashmir Reader has learnt.
According to official sources, the department has sent the proposal to J&K Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu last week and sought approval for completely banning the private practice of doctors under the new Union Territory rules.
“The health department has already formulated a policy to stop private practice of doctors in an efficient manner and compensate them by way of non-practicing allowance (NPA),” said a senior official in the department.
He said the draft policy had been sent to the Lieutenant Governor for the final approval before issuing any official order in this regard.
“We are hopeful that we will get the go ahead soon as there is hardly any opposition to the plan in absence of the political government in J&K,” the official said.
The department had received many complaints against doctors that they abandon government hospitals during working hours which resulted in poor patient care.
Sources said the Lieutenant Governor is expected to discuss the proposal next week with the health department officials before clearing it.
It has been observed that very few doctors follow the duty roster as they indulge in private practice during office hours as well as in the evening when they are supposed to attend patients at government designated evening clinics, they said.
Another official privy to the development said the ban order issued in 2013 to bar head of departments from private practice has also been violated explicitly by the doctors.
“Many HODs don’t even attend patients in the evening clinics designated by the government while at least 15 have to be present in Srinagar based evening clinic to attend patients,” he said.
Following the ban order issued six years ago, the then minister for medical education had started evening clinics to offer an alternative to HODs.
“The concept of evening clinics is an opportunity for doctors to earn from evening hour stays in designated hospitals. The clinics also generate revenue for the government and utilize the facilities of hospitals to the maximum,” said an official.
The plan for the doctors to work on the nursing home pattern was to generate revenue for government and doctors.

Manzoor ul-Hassan