The West Bengal Health Department has adopted a stricter policy governing private practice by doctors employed in government hospitals. Under the new guidelines, government doctors will be prohibited from engaging in private practice on their designated admission day and for the following 48 hours, effectively imposing a 72-hour restriction.

Under the existing duty allocation system, specific days are assigned to individual doctors as admission days. On the designated day, the doctor assumes responsibility for patients newly admitted to the concerned department.

The Health Department has now decided that the restriction on private practice will extend beyond the admission day. The concerned doctor will have to remain free from private practice for the next 48 hours as well.

In effect, the prohibition covers the admission day plus the subsequent two days, creating a total 72-hour period during which private practice will not be permitted.

Focus on critical period after admission

According to Health Department sources, the decision has been taken because the first few days following admission are considered crucial for a patient’s treatment.

During this period, doctors may have to monitor changes in the patient’s physical condition, review test reports, assess the response to treatment and modify medication or other aspects of the treatment plan. A patient’s condition can also deteriorate suddenly, requiring immediate medical intervention.

The department believes that doctors responsible for newly admitted patients must therefore remain sufficiently available at the government hospital during this period.

Private practice permission will not apply

The new restriction will apply even where a government doctor has previously obtained permission to engage in private practice.

According to the directive, such permission will not be effective during the designated 72-hour period. The admission day and the following 48 hours will be treated as a specific period during which private practice is prohibited.

The move follows longstanding complaints about government doctors allegedly attending private chambers while also having responsibilities at government hospitals.

Questions have also been raised over possible overlaps between hospital duties and private consultations. The Health Department’s latest decision seeks to ensure that a doctor’s responsibility for patients admitted under their care is not compromised by private professional engagements outside the hospital.

Officials maintain that allowing doctors to immediately resume private practice after an admission day could undermine continuity of care. Medical reports and examinations conducted during the following two days may reveal new complications or require changes to the initial treatment strategy.

Backed by 2006 Service Rules

The state government’s decision is based on the West Bengal Medical Education Service Rules, 2006. The rules empower the government to fully or partially withdraw permission for private practice by government doctors when such a step is considered necessary in the public interest.

The Health Department is exercising that authority to specifically restrict private practice during the admission day and the following 48 hours.

The department’s primary objective is to ensure that doctors devote adequate time to patients admitted under their responsibility and directly supervise their treatment during the most critical stage following admission.

The latest directive therefore represents more than a routine administrative instruction. By invoking the provisions of the 2006 service rules, the government has formally brought the 72-hour period following an admission duty within the restrictions governing private practice.

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