Evening Out-Patient (OP) clinics at major Telangana government hospitals would start functioning from Monday. Timings of the evening OPs are 4 p.m. to 6 p. on all working days.
A few government doctors have raised questions about the move such as the rules based on which the work timings are changed or extended. Director of Medical Education K. Ramesh Reddy said that no one will be asked to work overtime.
The usual work timings for the doctors is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Rather than working from morning, doctors who will be allotted duty in the Evening OPs will work from afternoon to evening. Dr. Ramesh Reddy said that a doctor will not be allotted duties in Emergency Ward and the Evening OP . The work in the two sections will not be shared by the same doctor. A roster chart with duty allotments would be prepared by heads of departments.
Advantage people
The initiative would be of help to people who come from far away districts, get tested, and have to consult doctors again with the results. They would be able to consult doctors in the evening rather than coming the next day or on some other day.
Besides, people who attend offices, or rely on daily wages don’t have to take leave from work or let go off daily wages to consult doctors or get tested.
The Director of Medical Education said that along with the Evening OP, lab facilities too would be available to people.
Five departments
Doctors from five departments will have to attend duties in the Evening OPs. They are Orthopaedics, General Medicine, General Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Apart from this Opthalmology in Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital too will have evening OP.
The initiative will be launched in hospitals attached to nine old government medical colleges, and not at the newly established medical colleges. Some of the old medical colleges are Gandhi Medical College, Osmania Medical College, Kakatiya Medical College, Government Medical College in Nizamabad, Siddipet, and others.
Each medical college has one or more hospitals attached to it. OMC has Osmania General Hospital, Niloufer Hospital, and more attached to it. The DME held a meeting with superintendents of the hospital on Saturday.
The initiative was launched at Government Maternity Hospital in Sultan Bazaar two-months ago.
Vice president of Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA) Pratibha Lakshmi asked for clarity on who would have to offer services in the evening OP. The DME said that an assistant professor along with a senior resident or a post graduate student will be allotted duties.
