Munger: The Munger district administration will launch a system to record attendance of doctors with selfies from Tuesday to fight problems of absent personnel in the government hospitals.

"I have been receiving regular complaints for a long time about personnel remaining absent or reaching the sadar hospital and rural health centres late. I have no option but to take the help of technology. So, I've decided to introduce 'selfie-attendance system' for all government doctors in Munger district," district magistrate Anand Sharma told The Telegraph on Wednesday.

"The doctors will mark their attendance directly from their mobile devices. In this way, the district administration will not only get the doctors' real-time location but also their live selfie. Soon, complaints of absence or manipulation in attendance or late arrival records will disappear," hoped Sharma.

The district magistrate said he has also "directed the civil surgeon to install closed-circuit television cameras in each ward of Munger sadar hospital, including emergency, to monitor services of doctors and paramedic staff".

He said: "I received complaints about doctors and nurses not attending to indoor patients at the sadar hospital in spite of being on duty."

"I've also directed the civil surgeon to set up a round-the-clock centralised pathology unit at the sadar hospital. The existing pathology centre must be equipped with the latest machines. Two semi-autoanalyser machines, defunct for months, should be repaired immediately as patients are being deprived of crucial tests," Sharma added.

Civil surgeon Yogendra Prasad Bhagat said: "The district magistrate's directives will be implemented in true spirit. But, it is also true that acute shortage of 74 medical officers, including specialists, is badly hampering medical services in the government hospitals and primary health centres in the district.

"At least 74 of 153 doctors' posts are vacant for years in the district. Now, anyone can imagine the pressure and strain on the medical officers deputed for emergency services," he added.