Nitish promises regularisation of contractual medicos in Bihar

In a boost to career prospects of about 1600 contractual doctors in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today promised regularisation of all contractual doctors, but at the same time chided them for frequently resorting to agitation affecting the medical services in the state.

"The contractual doctors (about 1600 in Bihar) will be regularised soon for which the state government will do the needful to remove obstacles at the earliest," he said at the Nalanda Medical College-cum-Hospital (NMCH) after inaugurating a function to mark its 45th foundation day.

Appearing to be disappointed with the contractual doctors for agitating frequently to press for regularisation among other demands, Kumar questioned them for doing so and counselled those medicos to focus on discharging their duties. The doctors should not get hassled by the behaviour of kin of patients, he said referring to frequent scuffle between doctors and relatives of patients in various government hospitals in Bihar, he said.

Stating that the state government was committed to put in place quality medical infrastructure and recruit doctors by creating required posts, the chief minister expressed dismay for delay in execution of ongoing medical infrastructure projects. Kumar further announced that the Medical Council of India (MCI) had sanctioned a strength of 100 medical students at the NMCH as against 50 earlier and said that he would take up with the apex body to allow in-take capacity at 250.

The Chief Minister also took note of lack of adequate number of medical colleges in the state which forced the students from the state to go out of the state for medical studies and said that his government had increased the number of medical colleges, but more such infrastructure was required. On this occasion, he announced construction of a trauma -cum-emergency centre at the cost of 31 crore and a 100-seat ward among other infrastructures at the premier medical institution.