K’taka minister appeals to docs to opt for rural service

Mysuru, Nov 11 : Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Minister K. Sudhakar on Wednesday urged the doctors that they should be willing to serve in rural areas as 70 per cent of the population resides in rural parts.
With a section of doctors having already approached the court seeking relief from government’s decision to make medicos serve in rural areas compulsorily, the minister urged them to withdraw their case and serve in rural areas voluntarily.
“You are free to study abroad, but come back to your motherland and serve here after the completion of studies,” the minister said while speaking in the 11th convocation ceremony of the JSS Higher Education and Research Academy here.
Sudhakar said that the state government had made it mandatory for the post-graduate medical students to serve in rural areas after completion of their courses.
“As many as 2,500 medicos will be completing their graduation this year. Doctors should be responsible enough to serve in rural areas on humanitarian grounds,” he added.
According to Sudhakar, at present there is one doctor for every 11,000-12,000 people in the state, which is a very skewed ratio.