‘Upper age limit of state doctors increased to 65’

To combat the crisis of the doctors in various state run medical colleges and hospitals the state government has decided to increase the upward age limit of the doctors in health services from 62-65.

The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to mitigate the dearth of doctors in the state run hospitals across the state. There were various posts of medical officers lying vacant for a long time. But these vacant posts could not be filled in an immediate basis.

If the existing strength of doctors is further reduced due to the retirement of the doctors in the hospitals, it will affect the health services in the state.

In order to ensure that the patients get proper treatment in the hospitals, the state government has decided to increase the upper age limit of the doctors. It is never easy to fill up the posts that had been lying vacant for years.

Partha Chatterjee, State Education Minister has officially announced the decision taken by the government in the Cabinet meeting. The new policy would be applicable for the doctors who are extending health services to the patients in various hospitals and medical colleges in the state but the doctors who are in administrative services will not be covered under the new policy.

“The upward age limit of the doctors in the health services has been increased from 62 to 65. The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting today (Wednesday) so that the health services do not get affected in various hospitals due to vacant posts,” Chatterjee said.

It may be mentioned that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee after coming to power in 2011 had taken various initiatives to revamp health infrastructure in all the state run hospitals. Following her announcement many multi-super-speciality hospitals have come up at various districts, while works to construct many other new medical colleges were underway. After the setting up of the new hospitals there was a huge requirement of doctors in the state. 

To mitigate the crisis of doctors in the hospitals, the state government needs to recruit more number of doctors. As it is a lengthy process, the government decided to increase the upward limit of the existing doctors to manage the situation.

To produce more number of doctors, Mamata Banerjee government has also increased the medical seats in the state. During the erstwhile Left Front government the number of medical seats in the state was relatively low.