The country is set to receive a much-needed influx of doctors in the health sector soon, following the recent completion of health examinations and police verifications for over 6,000 doctors who passed the 33rd BCS exam.
Several senior health ministry officials told the Dhaka Tribune that all medical officers (assistant surgeons and dental surgeons) – to be recruited through the 33rd BCS – would be appointed any time soon.
The medical board of the health directorate began conducting health examinations on the 6,240 Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) candidates from January, while police verification reports for the candidates were also submitted to the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The ministry officials added that the shortage of doctors, especially at the root level, would be largely alleviated through the fresh recruitments, as the country currently had around 8,000 vacant posts for medical officers.
Sources said the PSC would send the final list of selected doctors to the public administration ministry, which would later hand over the doctors to the health ministry for their recruitments based on the PSC’s recommendations.
When asked about the possible deadline for recruitment, Dr Shah Newaz, director (administration) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), could not confirm a date, but added that the issue would depend on the PSC and public administration ministry.
However, seeking anonymity, a senior ministry official said the recruitment process might be delayed because of faulty documents submitted by 133 doctors. Despite the ministry’s request to recruit the doctors, with the exception of the 133 candidates who were late in submitting BMDC registration certificate or handed in misspelled name and experience, the PSC refused to finish the hiring process without solving problems for all 6,240 doctors, the official added.
The PSC had earlier advertised for the recruitment of 2,442 doctors from the 33rd BCS examination, but later decided to allow the health ministry to fill up over 4,000 medical officer posts left vacant over the years under the freedom fighter quota.