The Nagaland Medical Students’ Association demands transparency in the recruitment process for Medical Officer posts, while alleging that these positions are currently occupied by contractual doctors.
The Nagaland Medical Students’ Association (NMSA) expresses its dissatisfaction with the recent advertisement issued by the Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) vide Advertisement No. NPSC-1/04 (VOL-I) dt.28.03.2024 for the Combined Technical Services Examination 2024, which omits recruitment for medical officer positions.
This omission comes as a stark contrast to the growing need for healthcare professionals in the state, which has been grappling with a doctor shortage.
According to the NMSA, it has been three years since medical officers were last recruited through the NPSC CTSE in 2021. Despite the government's awareness of the state's deficit in healthcare providers, there has been a lack of initiative to recruit for over 183 sanctioned medical officer posts currently occupied by state contract doctors and contractual COVID doctors appointees.
Nagaland has one doctor for every 4,056 people, far from the WHO-recommended ratio of one doctor per 1,000
The Nagaland Medical Students’ Association highlights the plight of more than 250 medical graduates since the last exam in 2021, who have been waiting for an opportunity to compete in the state NPSC Combined Technical Services Exam for Medical Officer positions.
The practice of hiring doctors on a contractual basis undermines the prospects of current students and fresh graduates but also affects the contract doctors themselves, given the upper age limit for the NPSC CTSE. The stagnation of recruitment through NPSC CTSE is poised to have a detrimental impact on the state's public health services.
NMSA advocates for medical officer recruitment (MBBS) as the sole entry route into the state government's Health and Family Welfare Department and opposes the creation of a specialist cadre for recruitment in the NPSC CTSE.
NMSA also calls for the inclusion of all 22 seats occupied by in-service doctors who have joined the new state medical college, Nagaland Institute of Medical Science and Research (NIMSR). These seats should be advertised for recruitment of medical officers through NPSC's written and viva voce examinations, they say.
The association calls upon the government to initiate prompt recruitment measures for all sanctioned medical officer posts currently occupied by state contract doctors and contractual COVID doctors appointees, as well as the 22 Medical officer posts, granting all eligible graduates a fair chance to contribute to the state's healthcare services.
