'Allow doctors to keep arms for self defence'

An umbrella body of government doctors has demanded that they be granted licences to keep a weapon for self defence in view of rising attacks on them.
At its general body meeting held yesterday, the Joint Action Council of Service Doctors (JACSDO) expressed concern over the "spurt" in attacks by relatives of patients on doctors.
The organisations which are part of the Council include the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association and All India Federation of Government Doctors' Associations.
"The doctor-patient ratio of 1:1600 as against the WHO norm of 1:1000 is a major reason for violence against them," JACSDO president D R Dey said.

He said government doctors should be given "200 per cent of their basic pay as allowance to compensate for the shortage".
"The government should also allow doctors to have arms licences for self defense," Dey said.

At the meeting, the doctors rejected the Seventh Pay Commission's recommendations, saying their implementation in the current form will make government doctors move to the private sector.
They rued that the commission has reduced the non- practising allowance (NPA), given exclusively to doctors, from 25 to 20 per cent.
The council said that earlier the NPA and basic pay were added for calculating the house rental allowance (HRA). But now the HRA will be calculated only on the basic pay, resulting in less salary.

"Adhocism and contractual appointment should be eliminated and all the appointments should be regularised," it said in a charter of demands submitted to the Union Health Ministry.