Date:21/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/21/stories/2007112153600300.htm

Karnataka

Evening OPD service peters out

Staff Correspondent

Staff have not yet been paid

Chitradurga: The State Government, on July 2, 2007, directed all district hospitals in the State to keep their out-patient departments open in the evenings. This was to ensure that those who did not have time to go to a hospital in the morning could do so after working hours.

The district hospitals were asked to appoint doctors and staff to work between 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. for 20 days a month.

While doctors attending the evening OPDs were to be paid an honorarium of Rs. 300 a day, staff such as lab technicians, X-ray technicians and group D staff were to be paid Rs. 100 a day.But doctors at the district hospital here stopped attending the evening OPD since November 1. They said that they had not been paid for their services for three months.

The hospital had appointed eight doctors, of which four were private practitioners. In addition, there were six other staff.

The total expenses incurred on their services amounted to around Rs. 60,000 for 20 days. Speaking to The Hindu, district surgeon Kamareddy said that the hospital had not received funds.

He said the Government had been asked to release funds, but to no avail.

It is learnt that the scheme has not worked well in most districts owing to lack of publicity and the Government’s failure to release funds.