Hyderabad: Fear of job loss haunts TIMS contract docs, staff

Hyderabad: The doctors, nurses and other outsourcing medical staff who served the Covid patients in PPE kits at the Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences (TIMS) while risking their lives may go unemployed by this March-end if the State government fails to regularise their jobs or extend their employment contract. The doctors and nurses are likely to boycott the contract recruitment of the government if their contracts are not renewed.

Though the senior officials of the State Public Health Department have not given any clarification to the doctors on the renewal of the contract, sources said that internal discussions were being held and many believe that there would be no renewal of contract as the Covid cases in the State are going south. According to sources in the hospital, the security personnel, patient care staff, lab technicians, housekeeping and other staff members have been asked not to come to the duties from March 31. This has put doctors' livelihoods at risk as many have been working in the hospital for the last two years. With no official announcement or update, the entire medical staff of TIMS is concerned about their employment.

Meanwhile, doctors at the TIMS said that when there was a need for medicos, the government hired them and when the cases were dipping, it wants to remove them. They further added that they have treated over 15,000 patients during all three waves of the pandemic and now the government wants to ignore their plight.

There are 90 doctors, 250 nurses and 125 outsourcing employees working at the State-run facility.

Speaking about the issue, Telangana Healthcare Reform Doctors' Association (HRDA) president Dr K Mahesh said, "Around 1,000 contract doctors are currently working in the State-run hospitals, all were hired during the Covid peak times. The doctors' association has kept on requesting the government and health department on multiple occasions for direct recruitment, but so far there has been no response."

Warning the government, he further said that there was no realisation from the Health department. He said, "Doctors will start boycotting contract recruitment and not join at all because the doctors' need for employment is being exploited by the State government."

Though the government has started out-patient (OP) services at the TIMS, there are a few departments, and patients have demanded the government to transform the hospital into a multi-specialty hospital. A large number of patients from the outskirts of Hyderabad from Gandipet and other nearby villages are visiting TIMS, he said.

Meanwhile, TIMS Director Vimala Thomas said, "No orders have been received from the State medical department yet."