The Himachal Pradesh government will frame a comprehensive Senior Residency Policy for all medical colleges in the state, with a key provision to raise the quota for General Duty Officers (GDOs) in senior residency to 66 per cent.
Presiding over a high-level meeting of the Health Education and Health Department, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the policy would focus on rationalisation of senior resident posts to ensure optimal utilisation of available medical manpower in government medical colleges. The move replaces the existing 50:50 ratio between GDOs and direct recruitment.
The Chief Minister said the state would also expand postgraduate medical education by introducing MD and MS programmes in additional disciplines at the medical colleges in Chamba, Nahan, Hamirpur and Nerchowk. He said this would strengthen academic capacity while addressing the shortage of specialist doctors in government institutions.
To enhance specialised healthcare services, Sukhu announced that Doctorate of Medicine (DM) and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh) super-specialists would be appointed in medical colleges. He added that state-of-the-art Intensive Care Units equipped with advanced medical technology would be established in all medical colleges to improve critical care services.
Focusing on patient facilitation, the Chief Minister said the government would appoint 1,000 Patient Care Assistants, known as Rogi Mitras. Of these, 500 will be deployed in medical colleges and 500 in other health institutions. A pilot project will be launched in Hamirpur district, where a Standard Operating Procedure has already been prepared. In the initial phase, Rogi Mitras will be posted at Primary Health Centres.
The Chief Minister said these initiatives are aimed at strengthening medical education, improving patient care and ensuring better availability of skilled doctors across the state’s healthcare system.
