DAK seeks increase in retirement age for doctors in JK

Srinagar : Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Wednesday has sought increase in the retirement age for doctors in Jammu and Kashmir (JK) to 65 years.

“Enhancement of superannuation age of doctors will help utilize the services of experienced doctors for the betterment of health care,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan.

Dr Hassan said many senior faculty members in medical colleges are retiring which would create a big void in teaching hospitals.

“Already there is a shortage of faculty in medical colleges; with more senior professors retiring it will hit the medical education in JK,” he said adding “the number of postgraduate and postdoctoral seats will be affected.”

The DAK President said raising the retirement age would help retain the best skilled healthcare professionals thereby providing better patient care.

“It would also help in improving the teaching standards and research in teaching hospitals,” he said.

Dr Nisar said life expectancy has grown significantly over the years resulting in lot of doctors wanting to work beyond the current retirement age.

“Such doctors bring with them years of experience and expertise. Therefore, retirement age of doctors certainly needs to be increased,” he said.

“Presently, the age of retirement for doctors in JK is 60 years and for faculty in teaching hospitals it is 62 years.

The retirement age for central government doctors is 65 years and it should be extended to JK doctors also,” he added.