Hospitals facing acute shortage of doctors

12/06/2018

The State is facing such a huge shortage of doctors that not to speak of maintaining the World Health Organization's (WHO) patient doctor ratio which is 1:500, it has even failed to maintain Western standard of doctor patient ratio 1:1000. Notwithstanding claims of Government to open new Medical Colleges and Hospitals, the existing hospitals in the State are confronted with shortage of doctors and paramedical staff putting patients to a lot of trouble and problems. The prevailing doctor patient ratio in the State is over 1:2000 with the result the doctors in hospitals are over-burdened and hence they fail to provide proper attention to the patients in the hospitals who visit there for treatment. This often results into public resentment or clash between doctors or para medical staff and patients attendants, sources added. The shortage of doctors as well as paramedical staff also creates difficulties for the hospital administration especially in rural areas in running the emergencies especially in the event like accidents or the natural calamities. The situation in some district and sub district hospitals is so grave that over 50 percent posts of doctors are lying vacant there and the system is totally run on the basis of adhocism.
Lack of doctors has forced the authorities in the Health Department to do away with their earlier decision of running health centers for both day and night hours. Though running of primary health centers for round the clock has become need of hour to provide better medicare facilities to the people and maintain a good public health in the State, the Health Department is not in a position to provide such services due to dearth of doctors and paramedical staff. In Rajouri district out of a total strength of 235 doctors in Sub District and other hospitals only 87 are available while among the 106 posts of doctors working under National Health Mission (NHM) in the district only 88 are available. Moreover, there is one sanctioned post of Medical Officer for Blood Bank Rajouri but the same is also lying vacant. The post of Radiologist and one post of Orthopedicianis also lying vacant in DH Rajouri. The situation is also not better in District Poonch where out of 120 sanctioned posts of Medical Officers only 28 are available while out of 48 Specialists 22 are available in the district. In Ramban district out of two Gynecologists, one post is lying vacant while there is no post of Anesthesiol ogist, no Radiologist and out of two sanctioned posts of Orthopedicians only one is available. Besides, the hospital has two sanctioned posts of Dermatologists which are lying vacant for a long time. In addition to it out of 22 Medical Officers four are lying vacant in the hospital besides, one post of Dental Surgeon, one post of pediatrician and one post of Consultant Physician are also lying vacant.

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