India, April 11 -- The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has reduced patient referrals by over 30% within three months of appointing specialist doctors and revising pay scales, officials said on Friday. The move aims to strengthen public healthcare and reduce dependence on tertiary hospitals.

To address a shortage of specialists due to low pay, Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram led an initiative to make salaries more competitive. Monthly pay for specialist doctors was increased from Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2.5 lakh.

In January, the civic body appointed five gynaecologists, five paediatricians, two MD physicians and one anaesthetist at Kamla Nehru Hospital, the PMC's only general hospital and a tertiary care facility. Referrals to higher c...