| In India, though the number of primary health centres continues to grow, more and more of them go without qualified medical officers. One solution, rather than unceremoniously dumping young doctors in rural areas, would be to introduce these physicians to rural service through a district civil hospital. District hospitals in West Bengal, for instance, are well equipped and well manned by qualified young doctors. Working in these hospitals can help attune young physicians to health problems in the area where they are posted. Each trainee could serve for a period of time in a primary health centre in the district. After this training, health service administrators would have some experienced workers to select from in staffing primary health centres. It is clear too that some experienced older health staff would like to remain in service rather than retire at retirement age. They should be given a choice to retire or not retire, according to their own choice. |