Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Government Mulls Ban on Private Practice

The Jammu and Kashmir government is considering banning the private practice of government doctors in the Union Territory to improve the functioning of its hospitals.

A letter sent by the Lt. Governor's office to the Principals of Government medical colleges in this regard has requested them to give their comments and views on the matter.

With health being a state subject, private practice by government doctors is banned in most of the states. In return for the ban on private practice, the government provides them with a Non-Practicing Allowance or NPA. The NPA is a special kind of allowance paid to the medical professionals at the posts of Medical and Veterinary Services and is a percentage-based allowance. Under the seventh pay commission, the NPA is paid at the rate of 20 percent of the basic payment.

Jammu and Kashmir is among the few places in the country where the private practice of doctors is allowed.

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There have been many complaints of doctors preferring to treat patients in their private clinics rather than in government hospitals.

The step is apparently aimed at improving the functioning of government hospitals and medical colleges across the Union Territory and for making doctors more accessible to the patients.

Meanwhile, the government is aiming at improving the health infrastructure by building new colleges and opening two AIIMS, one each in Jammu and the Kashmir Valley.