Bangalore, Oct 24 (DHNS): Shortage of doctors in government hospitals incurred the wrath of Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa on Thursday.

Thimmappa summoned Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khadar and Principal Secretary of the department N Sivasailam and took them to task for the delay in recruitment of doctors.

Thimmappa has been quite vocal on the state of affairs in government hospitals and had pulled up Khadar at least twice on the floor of the Legislative Assembly during the legislature session when the issue was raised by members.

On Thursday, Khadar was once again at the receiving end, with Thimmappa telling him that the shortage of doctors was causing untold miseries to patients and that he should complete the process of recruitment at the earliest.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Thimmappa said there were several factors that had led to shortage of doctors in government hospitals.

Disparity in salaries of doctors compared to that paid to faculty in medical colleges, handing over the process of appointment to the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) were among the reasons.

Thimmappa said the department should take up direct recruitment through merit instead of going through the KPSC.

When Sivasailam intervened stating that the process of recruitment of 1,700 MBBS doctors and 250 specialists was on the cards, Thimmappa sought to know whether the proposal had been sent to the finance department.

The speaker also sought to know why the process of recruitment had not been expedited. The Speaker also sought earnest efforts to streamline administration. “Unless you put your heart at work nothing will change,” he remarked.

Thimmappa had recently hit the headlines for lashing out at the Siddaramaiah government stating that there was no transparency in the administration.

There was laxity on the part of government in responding to the grievances of the public, he had stated.

New proposal

On his part, Khadar said he had met the Speaker to seek his guidance and suggestions. The government will complete the recruitment of doctors and also group ‘C’ and ‘D’ employees soon.

A proposal had also been sent to the finance department to increase the salaries of doctors. To a query on government doctors threatening to resign en masse on October 27 over wage disparity and irregular payment of salaries, Khadar expressed confidence of resolving the issue.

The government, however, will not be deterred by the threat of resignation, he added.The government doctors have gone on strike, four times in a row.

If the situation continues to remain the same, they have threatened to give mass resignation to the CM on Oct 27.