Patiala, July 13 -- In a bid to address the acute shortage of medical specialists in government hospitals, the Punjab government has decided to recruit 100 retired medical specialists through walk-in interviews. The move, however, has sparked criticism from young doctors, who have been waiting for regular appointments since 2022.

This will be the first recruitment drive in the state after a gap of nearly three years. According to the Punjab health department's notification, the posts to be filled include 21 in paediatrics, 20 in general medicine, 20 in gynaecology, 15 in general surgery, 13 in anaesthesia, seven in radiology and four in psychiatry.

The notification specifies that only retired specialist doctors aged between 58 and 64 ye...