To our absolute shock and disbelief, we have noticed that a new SOP (Standard Operating Protocol) concerning Senior Residents under indemnity bond (post MD/MS/Diploma and post DM/MCh Junior Doctors) has been issued by Swasthya Bhavan, superseding all previous SOPs ( Memo N o. HAD/ I 2M-01 -2025/D M E/Pt -112025 lll.l 449)
At a time when young doctors across the state are demanding transparency, fairness and academic security, this newly issued SOP appears less like an administrative guideline and far more like an instrument of control and an extension of an institutional threat culture.
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙎𝙊𝙋 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢.
𝟭. 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱:The new SOP does not define any transparent or objective criterion for allotment of Senior Resident postings.
Posting is left entirely to an undefined administrative requirement.
In the previous SOP of 2023, (Memo. No. HF/O/H S(MA)1222/HFW-430 tt(tt) I |S2I2022-ADMIN) postings were linked to merit and final MD/MS examination performance. 𝙄𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙.This change has not occurred in isolation. It follows a phase where 𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 and 𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 counselling practices were exposed before the judiciary in cases involving Dr. Aniket Mahato, Dr. Debashis Halder and Dr. Asfakulla Naiya, where counselling procedures were violated in a demonstrably vindictive and boastful manner.
By deleting merit based allocation and by refusing to introduce any transparent scoring or randomisation mechanism, this SOP creates an open instrument of intimidation.
The message to young doctors is unmistakable. If you raise your voice, question irregularities or expose wrongdoing, your posting will be decided at administrative convenience.
𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆.
𝟮. 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱:As per the eligibility framework under the National Medical Commission, a minimum one year period of Senior Residency in a recognised medical college or institution is essential to remain eligible for entry into the Medical Education System.
The previous SOP clearly protected this pathway by ensuring that Senior Residents spent a defined one year period in recognised academic institutions, with the remaining two year tenure in peripheral service.
In the new SOP, the language has been diluted to allow posting in non teaching hospitals whenever administratively required. There is no guaranteed provision of even one year of Senior Residency in a recognised medical institution.
This directly threatens the future of young specialists who aspire to become teachers, researchers and faculty members.
It is not merely a service deployment policy. It is an erosion of the medical education pipeline itself.
𝟯. 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗠/𝗠𝗖𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:The SOP now permits posting of post DM and post MCh Senior Residents, during their bond period, to healthcare facilities that do not possess the minimum functional infrastructure required for their super speciality practice.
There is no objection to decentralisation of advanced care, provided infrastructure, equipment, laboratories, operation theatres, trained manpower and referral networks are simultaneously developed.
But in the present system, such facilities largely do not exist. In reality, this provision enables the administration to place a freshly trained super specialist in centres where their speciality services cannot be delivered, their procedural skills cannot be utilised and their training becomes professionally redundant.
This is not service expansion. This is professional sidelining.We already have multiple real life examples where post MD and post MS Senior Residents were posted in facilities incapable of utilising their speciality training, rendering their service almost functionally meaningless.
The same pattern is now being extended to post DM and post MCh doctors.
This provision operates far more as a transfer weapon than as a healthcare policy.
𝟰. 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗢𝗖 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:The SOP introduces a complete bar on granting NOC for any fellowship or higher degree during the indemnity bond period.
Earlier policy allowed doctors to pursue fellowship or higher training with a clear and balanced mechanism.
The bond was to be completed after the training, or the prescribed financial penalty was to be paid. That framework respected both public service responsibility and the doctor’s right to academic advancement.
The new SOP converts this into an absolute prohibition.
Higher training is not an act of indiscipline.
It is a cornerstone of a competent and evolving healthcare system. Blocking structured academic progression weakens future faculty, future specialists and future institutional leadership.
𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑺𝑶𝑷 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔:opaque postings, administrative arbitrariness, career insecurity and fear driven compliance. It dismantles merit, damages medical education and converts posting policy into a tool of control.
𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗢𝗣 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.
Young doctors will not accept a system governed by silence, submission and uncertainty.
