The Delhi Cabinet today approved the health department's proposal for appointment of 92 managers at its hospitals, a move that would relieve doctors of administrative works and so that they can focus on medical services only.
 

The proposal for creation of the post of hospital managers was approved in the meeting of the Delhi Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. According to a Delhi government statement, the hospital managers (superintendents) would be appointed on fixed consolidated remuneration initially for a one year, on contract basis.

Currently, 24 Delhi government hospitals (excluding autonomous institutions) are providing secondary, tertiary and specialised healthcare to people. "These health facilities need to be run efficiently to cater to clinical service delivery as well as ancillary operations of hospital management for providing quality healthcare services to the citizen of Delhi," the statement said.

Till now, apart from clinical service delivery, medical directors, superintendents, doctors, nurses, paramedics and pharmacists were engaged in ancillary operations of hospital management as well. According to the statement, multifarious services ranging from housekeeping, sanitation, kitchen services to specialised medical requirements and equipment handling among others are required to be efficiently managed in hospitals.

"Involvement of doctors in administrative work not only leads to reduction in their clinical (service) output, but also puts an additional load of hospital management on them," it said. States such as Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have under the National Health Mission also created posts of hospital managers to employ professional manpower having managerial competence, the Delhi government said in the statement.