30% posts of CGHS doctors, other staff lying vacant: Parliamentary panel tells Health Ministry

"It is really worrisome that out of the sanctioned strength of 1,997 doctors, 490 posts are lying vacant," the Committee on Estimates in its report 'Assessment of Various Initiatives under CGHS' tabled in Lok Sabha said. 

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"No wonder, patients are made to wait for a long time in Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) dispensaries due to non-availability of doctors," it stated.

The committee, while taking note of the steps taken by the ministry to fill up the vacant posts, recommended it to pursue strongly with the recruiting departments/agencies concerned so that the recruitment process can be completed expeditiously.

"The ministry should not shrug off its responsibilities by leaving it to the UPSC/SSC or other recruiting agencies to complete the recruitment process. Since providing medical assistance under CGHS is their responsibility, they must constantly follow up with them to ensure that the process is not delayed," the committee said in its report.

The committee is of the view that opening or operating CGHS centres without sufficient doctors has no meaning and causes inconvenience to beneficiaries. It observed that beneficiaries are facing inconvenience at CGHS centres due to poor doctor-beneficiary ratio.

It also urged upon the government to prepare a road map for the future, considering that the number of beneficiaries are increasing every year whereas the number of the sanctioned strength of doctors remains static.

It recommended that the government review the terms and conditions of services in the grade of specialist and GDMOs (General Duties Medical Officers), and make necessary amendments or changes in the service conditions to attract bright candidates.

The panel highlighted that many bills due for payment are carried over to the next financial year owing to various reasons, which is affecting the credibility of CGHS with regard to timely payment of bills to hospitals.

"It ultimately translates in refusal of treatment to CGHS beneficiaries by some of the empanelled hospitals or demand for a security deposit before starting the treatment," it said in the report.

The committee, therefore, recommended the government to work out a mechanism for fixing a timeline for fast settlement and payment of bills to hospitals.

It also urged the government to put in place a mechanism to review the rates of treatment/diagnosis under CGHS every year and make those reasonable enough to attract the interest of a wider number of hospitals.

It said many empanelled hospitals have shown scant interest for renewal or extension of MoA for empanelment due to the wide gap in rates fixed by CGHS in comparison to prevailing market rates.

It urged the health ministry to revise norms for establishing CGHS wellness centres in a new city in such a way as to include central government employees, pensioners and their dependent family members.

The parliamentary committee said the government needs to consider relaxation of existing norms or create new norms for opening new wellness centres, particularly for beneficiaries of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and north eastern states.

Under CGHS, medicines not available in dispensaries are indented and procured through authorised local chemists and provided to the beneficiaries.

The committee observed that in certain cases, the medicines which are indented are not procured in time and the beneficiaries have to procure them from open market.

"This creates inconvenience as well as dissatisfaction among the beneficiaries who are making regular contributions to the Central Government Health Scheme. Also, it has come to the notice of the committee that in many cases, the bid/contract of the authorised local chemist is not renewed well in time and the dispensary is not in a position to supply the medicines," the committee said in its report.

Further, it recommended devising a mechanism to ensure that every CGHS set-up in the country regularly interacts, preferably every three months, with the local MP.