The health department has proposed a committee to create a separate cadre for emergency services in medical colleges and hospitals.

Sources in the department said a three-member committee has been proposed on Saturday for framing rules for the new cadre of doctors to look after the state's emergency wings. The panel will be responsible for deciding the members' salary structure, promotion and other matters.

This plan to create a separate cadre for the medical college and hospitals was proposed around two years ago. The trigger was a strike called by the junior doctors of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). Although the plan was on the backburner, the issue resumed after the recent strike of the junior doctors at PMCH. The health hub was paralysed and the health department woke to its plan in cold storage.

At present, all the medical colleges depend heavily on the junior doctors. "There are around 600 of them at PMCH," said Shekhar Chandra Verma, joint secretary, health. "Though senior doctors treat the patients, the junior doctors - postgraduate students - are the ones who closely monitor the treatment."

The sources said at night, senior doctors on duty are hardly found at the hospital and patients and their attendants have to depend on the junior doctors.

As strikes by the junior doctors are quite common in case of clash with attendants, the proposal of a separate emergency team gathers importance.

"It will take time in framing the rules for the new cadre," said a health official part of the three-member committee. "Once the rules are framed, it would be sent to the cabinet for approval and then the law department's approval will be required too. All these processes will take time."

He added: "PMCH has given a requisition for deputation of 335 doctors under the proposed emergency services cadre. We are going to ask the other medical college and hospitals as well to find our how many doctors they require. Then only can we get an idea what we are getting into."

Under the service rule for the proposed emergency services cadre, doctors would not be able to go on strike and if they do, action would be taken against them. "The separate cadre is being constituted only to save the emergency services of the government medical college and hospitals from being hampered during any agitation. So, this clause has been included," added the official.

In another move, the health department has formed a committee at PMCH, which would give suggestions on improving the emergency wing's functioning.

The seven-member committee comprises health department officials, including director-in-chief, health services, Azad Hind Prasad, PMCH officials and two postgraduate students. The panel's first meeting is scheduled for Thursday and as per plan, the committee will meet every fortnight or month to discuss problems grappling the PMCH emergency wing.

The hospital superintendent, Lakhendra Prasad, who is also one of the committee members, said he would put forward a proposal for deployment of a permanent force outside the emergency wing of the hospital to take care of security problems in the first meeting on Thursday.

Deputy superintendent of the hospital Sudhanshu Singh also said a proposal to increase the number of closed-circuit television cameras installed at the hospital will be taken up. "We want to cover the entire hospital area with CCTV cameras so that no incident goes unnoticed."