Bengaluru: The ESIC Model Hospital in Rajajinagar, a lifeline for many who cannot afford treatment at private hospitals, is now in dire straits due to mass transfer of its doctors.
The New Delhi based ESIC headquarters has issued orders to shift 80 specialist and senior doctors out of the hospital and those posts have been abolished. ESIC Director General has said this was being the bring about ‘rationalization’.
The doctors have been told to move to various ESIC hospitals located in north India. The ESIC argument is that these doctors are in surplus in the state as medical colleges and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Science and Research (PGIMSR) have been institutionalised.
Taking a strong objection, the doctors have approached the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and it has granted them a stay of two weeks.
The move is expected to affect thousands of patients, mostly government employees, and put their health at risk. This hospital was offering primary, secondary and tertiary support to patients from economically weaker sections and help employees avail medical services as per the Employee State Insurance (ESI) scheme.
For many chronically ill patients this will be a huge blow as they will now have to rely on less experienced doctors at medical colleges.
The doctors pointed out that it was a gross violation of the ESIC rules, which is a statutory body and one among the largest social sector organisations.
