Patiala, May 11 -- The hefty bills, in some cases exceeding Rs.4 lakh, submitted by empanelled private medical specialists hired by the Punjab government have raised the hackles of the government doctors' body, who said that their monthly remunerations now exceed those of the state's senior-most bureaucrats. The state government started empanelling private medical specialists in December last year to address the chronic shortage crippling secondary healthcare services. Official data reveal that, out of the 2,098 sanctioned posts of medical specialists in Punjab, only 1,000 are currently filled. No regular recruitment has been carried out in the state since 2022. Health minister Dr Balbir Singh said the government had little option but to empanel private specialists, and this has been done in areas, which are facing an acute shortage of regular doctors. "First, we conducted regular recruitment, but only a few candidates joined. Then we tried walk-in interviews under the National Health Mission (NHM), but again, only a few joined. Therefore, we had to resort to the empanelment scheme," the minister said. The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA), in a memorandum submitted to the Punjab health department, said that the monthly remuneration paid to empanelled private doctors was two to three times higher than the entry-level pay scale of regular government medical specialists. "Despite having limited responsibility and accountability compared to government doctors, the salaries of empanelled private doctors at several stations have surpassed the gross pay of senior regular PCMS specialist doctors with over 15 years of service. In some centres, their salaries have even exceeded the take-home pay of civil surgeons and deputy directors," the PCMSA said. The minister said checks and balances are in place to ensure no one takes advantage of the scheme. "We have a mechanism to monitor the salaries of empanelled doctors and conduct audits if the payments appear unusually high," he added. According to a notification issued in December last year, these specialists were hired to work at district hospitals and sub-divisional hospitals for at least three hours a day, six days a week. These specialists are being paid Rs.100 per patient for OPD and IPD services; Rs.3,500 for major surgeries or caesarean sections; Rs.1,000 for minor surgeries; Rs.500 for minor procedures; Rs.400 per ultrasound; Rs.1,500 per emergency call; and Rs.2,000 for anaesthesia in major surgeries. The empanelment doesn't bar the private specialists from continuing their private practices. PCMSA state president Dr Akhil Sarin questioned the financial prudence of the model. "We oppose the recruitment of empanelled private specialists without exhausting all possible measures for regular recruitment. It is an unnecessary drain on the state exchequer," he said....