Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday directed the Health Department to constitute a new committee to re-examine the recent incident at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC). Presiding over a departmental review meeting, the Chief Minister made it clear that while the State Government is committed to ensuring the safety and security of doctors and healthcare staff, any form of misbehaviour with patients would not be tolerated.
The Chief Minister stressed the importance of empathy and professionalism in healthcare delivery and instructed officials to introduce mandatory courses on human behaviour and management skills for doctors to uphold the ethical standards of the medical profession. He said patient dignity and respectful conduct must remain central to public healthcare services.
CM Sukhu said the State Government is considering incorporating behavioural parameters into the Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) of doctors, with specific weightage for good conduct towards patients. He added that in cases where patients or attendants misbehave with doctors, the matter should be promptly reported to senior अधिकारियों for appropriate action.
Highlighting efforts to strengthen the health system, the Chief Minister said the State Government is actively filling vacant posts of doctors and paramedical staff to reduce workload and enable healthcare professionals to perform their duties effectively. He noted that hundreds of posts have already been filled in the Health Department and more appointments will be made in the near future.
The Chief Minister further said that the State Government is also considering offering incentives to highly qualified doctors in order to attract more specialists to the public healthcare sector and enhance the quality of medical services.
Health Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Secretary Health Sandeep Kadam, Director Medical Education Dr. Rakesh Sharma, Director Health Services Dr. Gopal Berry, Special Secretaries Dr. Ashwani Sharma and Jitender Sanjta, along with other senior officers, were present at the meeting.
