In a controversial administrative decision, the Rajasthan government has withdrawn over 180 specialist doctors from their clinical duties to perform clerical verification work for thousands of newly recruited healthcare staff.
Massive Redeployment of Medical Experts
The state government has reassigned more than 180 specialist doctors from critical patient care responsibilities to verify educational certificates and documents of 8,200 newly selected nurses and paramedical staff. This unprecedented move has raised serious concerns about its impact on healthcare services across medical facilities.
On Thursday, the process began with 135 senior specialists from SMS Medical College being ordered to report to the Paramedical Institute in Raja Park for document verification duties. The reassigned medical professionals include anaesthetists, surgeons, gynaecologists, orthopaedicians, paediatricians, psychiatrists, radiotherapists and super-specialists in transfusion medicine, tropical medicine and palliative care.
Healthcare Services Face Disruption
An additional 51 specialists have been rostered from Friday onwards, with the entire verification exercise scheduled to continue until December 6. The redeployment of these highly qualified doctors, who typically handle critical cases in operation theatres, ICUs, emergency wards and super-speciality clinics, is expected to have significant consequences for patient care.
Medical experts warn that this decision will likely lead to cancelled elective surgeries and longer waiting times for patients seeking specialized medical attention. The situation becomes particularly concerning given that these doctors, who earn between ₹80,000 to ₹1.5 lakh per month and have undergone years of specialized training in life-saving skills, are now being utilized for verifying mark-sheets and caste certificates.
Government Justification and Medical Community Concerns
A senior medical education department official defended the controversial decision, citing recent incidents of fake documents in government services as making thorough verification "a necessary exercise." The official stated, "We are all part of the government and it is government work. We have to do it collectively. The healthcare services will not be affected as we have selected them from different departments and places."
However, this justification has been met with skepticism from the medical community. An SMS faculty member, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed the gravity of the situation: "The hospital is short of specialists even on normal days. Pulling five anaesthetists alone for paperwork can paralyse half the operation theatres on any given day."
The order issued by the medical education department emphasizes that the verification task is of "extremely important and essential nature" and warns that any negligence would invite disciplinary action. Traditionally, such document verification work has been handled by administrative officers, clerks or junior staff, making the deployment of highly specialized medical professionals particularly unusual.
