Patiala, April 30 -- Moving beyond district and sub-divisional hospitals, the Punjab government will now hire private specialists for Community Health Centres as well to tackle the persistent shortage of doctors. According to an official directive issued on Monday, the directorate of health and family welfare has authorised civil surgeons to conduct walk-in interviews to engage specialists on a per-patient and per-procedure fee basis. A district hospital offers the most comprehensive secondary care services, acting as the apex facility for the district. It is followed by sub-divisional hospitals (sub-district level) and then Community Health Centres, which are typically block-level, first-referral units. "The empanelment process has been completed for district hospitals and sub-divisional hospitals across all districts of Punjab. Approval has now been granted by the competent authority to extend this process to Community Health Centres, within the overall ceiling of 300 empanelled doctors as approved earlier by the government," reads the letter issued by Punjab health director Dr Hitender Kaur. "It is further noted that in some districts, there is a requirement for pathologists, particularly to strengthen laboratory services. Accordingly, pathology has been included as a specialty under empanelment," it adds. Specialties covered under the scheme include medicine, surgery, paediatrics, psychiatry, dermatology, chest & tuberculosis, gynaecology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology (ENT), anaesthesia, radiology and pathology. As per the framework, empanelled private doctors will be paid for specific services, including OPD consultations, emergency calls andsurgeries. To ensure speedy hiring, the health department has directed civil surgeons to conduct walk-in interviews on every second and fourth Tuesday. Additionally, the department has mandated that any doctor who fails to join within 14 days of selection will have their appointment cancelled. Assistant civil surgeons have been designated as nodal officers to oversee the process in their respective districts. The move comes at a time when the state's public health infrastructure is grappling with nearly a 50% vacancy in sanctioned specialist posts. Yet the health department has not conducted regular recruitment of medical specialists since 2022. The Punjab Civil Services Medical Association (PCMSA) had earlier this month expressed resentment over the empanelment model and demanded regular recruitment of specialists through walk-in interviews, citing it as a more sustainable solution to the shortage. Acknowledging the crunch, Punjab health minister Dr Balbir Singh said many specialists preferred the private sector due to higher pay, adding that the government's priority was to provide the best possible healthcare to people and all necessary steps will be taken to address the shortage. Dr Jasbir Aulakh, former deputy director of the Punjab health department, termed the hiring of private specialists as a step towards privatisation: "It is an ad hoc arrangement. The government should focus on regular recruitment."...