Haryana healthcare faces acute shortage of staff

According to the National Health Profile 2015 released recently, the healthcare infrastructure in Haryana is suffering from severe shortage of staff, and other recognised gaps. As a result of which, even though the Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij is reported to be making frequent inspections to improve the system condition, the effort at large seems to be having a little affect on the poor condition of the state infrastructure.

As per the National Health Profile 2015 that was released there are only 29 specialists working in Community Health Centres in the entire Haryana while there are only 395 doctors at Primary Health Centres.

The state is reported to be spending just 0.51 per cent of its Gross State Domestic Product for health sector as against the registered `661 per capita health expenditure. This put Haryana in a dismal health state condition, behind the other northern States including Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.

The monthly per capita household out-of-pocket medical expenditure in rural areas is 113 while it is149 in urban parts of Haryana, as per the National Health Profile.

Earlier, the Rural Health Statistics 2014-15 released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had pointed out that the sub centres, PHCs and CHCs, which form the backbone of rural healthcare delivery apparatus are facing acute shortage of specialist doctors and functioning with meager manpower in Haryana, as reported by the Pioneer

Every Government hospital serves over 1.6 lakh patients while there is only one bed for every 3481 persons in the State. Apart from this, every Allopathic doctor serves more than 10,000 people while a dental surgeon serve more than 47,000 people in Haryana, stated the National Health Profile released by Union Health Ministry.

It had revealed shortfall of 406 specialists including 102 paediatricians, 98 physicians, 103 OB&GY and 103 surgeons in CHCs, shortfall of 1387 health workers (male) at sub centres, 228 health assistants (male) at PHCs, 175 health assistance female at PHCs, 133 laboratory technicians in PHCs and CHCs, 62 pharmacists and shortfall of 56 radiographers in PHCs and CHCs, Throwing further light on the acute staff shortage witnessed in Haryana, the Pioneer further reported.

According to Rural Health Statistics, for the rural population of 1,65,09,359 (as per census 2011), there are a total of 2569 sub centres against the requirement of 3301 such health centres and there is a shortfall of 89 Primary Health Centres with 461 PHCs in position at present.