The Karnataka government is hastening the recruitment process of doctors in light of reports of staff shortages.
Times of India reported that the government is set to hire over 1,900 doctors through the direct recruitment route, bypassing the Karnataka Public Service Commission. A special recruitment committee would be in charge of choosing the doctors to become part of the government workforce instead.
Healthcare professionals who are interested in being recruited through this system can find further information through this link.
Doctors who are recruited would be required to sign a bond stating that they would not take a long leave or leave the job for a period of six months at least.
As with all other public services, KPSC usually conducts exams to shortlist doctors to become a regularised government doctor, but the government has decided to scrap this process due to the urgent necessity of doctors during the pandemic. The government will conduct recruitments through the Karnataka Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
This comes after an announcement made in January by the Karnataka Health Minister B Sriramulu about his intention to begin direct recruitments of doctors, taking cognizance of the massive shortage of doctors in the state. Deccan Herald had reported in an article dated January 23 that Minister B Sriramulu, in a hospital inauguration function in Mysuru district, had announced that the state government would fill up the 3,500 doctors’ posts vacancies through direct recruitment.
Meanwhile, the contract doctors who had threatened to put in their resignations due to lower pay have withdrawn their resignations, state health director Omprakash Patil told TNM.
Around 500 contractual doctors had threatened to resign for failure to make them into regularised doctors. Those doctors who have been regularised are entitled to higher pay than contractual doctors, and additionally have the assurance of job security.