Efficiency, empathy at the heart of Ladakh’s NHM transfer policy

Leh: The Department of Health and Medical Education in the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh has unveiled a transfer policy for the officials of the National Health Mission.
Three key features of the transfer policy are rationalisation of the manpower distribution, making all healthcare institutions, particularly in the remote areas, functional and ensuring that those employees who have personal health issues are offered relaxation. The policy further ensures that those officials who have recently served in difficult areas are given relatively soft postings.
To remove the possibility of preferential or discriminatory biases in transfers and postings, the new transfer policy calls for categorising posting stations into three categories of hard, moderately hard and soft posting areas.
District Health Societies have been asked to categorise the areas or health institutions on the basis of the degree of difficulty faced by the employees. They have been asked to complete the categorisation process and submit a report by May 5.
The Mission Director of the NHM in the Union Territory of Ladakh shall scritinise these reports on categorisation of difficult areas. Subsequently, the Mission Director shall notify the health insitutions as per the category of difficulty by May 15.
All paramedical staff recruited in the Union Territory under the National Health Mission shall have to spend a minimum of two-year mandatory services in hard areas. This will be followed by two years of soft area posting and then two years of posting in moderately hard areas.
The District Health Societies in Leh and Kargil have been asked to prepare lists of all para-medical staff under the NHM giving out their current postins as on May 1, 2022.
For posting under the new policy, the history of the previous postings shall be considered. The Administrative Department has asked the Mission Director NHM to prepare a final list of paramedical staff for posting based on their previous posting history. The NHM has been advised that no place, not even on account of remoteness, shall be left without staff. The list will be approved by the Principal Secretary of Health and Medical Education.
The employees suffering from disabilities or illness shall be exempted from rotational posting far from their residences. Such employees shall have to apply through proper channel to the Chief Medical Officers of the respective districts who will have the cases examined through a medical board. Subsequently, the Mission Director NHM shall put the file for final approval before the Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education.
Those employees posted out to the hard areas shall get incentives as permissible.