Delhi Hospitals reeling under Severe Doctor Shortage? Check out Govt's RTI response

New Delhi: The healthcare system in the national capital is grappling with a severe shortage of specialist doctors. Nearly 17% of medical officer posts, 38% of non-teaching specialist posts, and 22% of teaching specialist positions remain vacant at government hospitals in Delhi, as per recent data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query.

The RTI application filed by Dr Aman Kaushik has exposed shocking data, highlighting a growing crisis in the public healthcare sector in the capital. With patient footfall significantly higher than in other states, the shortage of staff is forcing doctors to work longer hours to make up for the gap, leading to mental and physical exhaustion. It is also severely affecting both patient care and medical education standards. 

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In his RTI query, Dr Kaushik sought detailed information regarding the staffing situation in various medical cadres. He requested data on the total number of sanctioned posts and the current vacancies in the Medical Officer, Non-Teaching Specialist, and Teaching Specialist cadres.

According to the RTI response, 234 out of 1,364 sanctioned posts in the medical officer cadre across Delhi government hospitals are unfilled, 281 out of 729 approved positions in the non-teaching specialist cadre remain unoccupied, and 132 out of 583 sanctioned teaching specialist posts are lying vacant.

'However 232 dossier of GDMOs and 109 dossier of NTS has been received from UPSC, and their posting is under process,' the response added.

Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Dr Aman Kaushik said, "These vacancies are indirectly impacting medical education and healthcare system in Delhi hospitals. I would request the Delhi Health Department to fill up these posts and solve this issue."

"Due to the lack of adequate specialist doctors, government hospitals are forced to increasingly depend on senior resident doctors to fill the gap," he pointed out.

Further, commenting on the matter, Dr. Rohan Krishnan, Chief Patron of the Federation of Indian Medical Associations (FAIMA) told Medical Dialogues, "The shortage of doctors is affecting both doctors and patients because they rely on each other. With fewer doctors in government hospitals, the quality of care patients receive is impacted. Patients often complain about not getting proper treatment or not finding enough doctors, which sometimes leads to violence against doctors. The main reason for this rising violence is the lack of doctors."

Sharing his own experience, he said, "I remember during my graduation, I was told that even though we had resources for 100 people, we had to treat 10,000 patients. This shows how overburdened doctors are, which takes a toll on their mental health. They struggle to care for themselves and their families. At the same time, patients expect proper treatment, even though many doctor positions remain vacant at government hospitals."

Medical Dialogues team had reported that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare raised serious concerns over the acute staff shortage at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, and several other top hospitals in the national capital. The report revealed that AIIMS Delhi, one of India’s premier medical institutions, is operating with significant faculty and non-faculty vacancies, leading to increased workload and long waiting periods for patients. 

Apart from AIIMS, the committee’s findings also indicated that several other government hospitals in Delhi are struggling with staff shortages. The gaps in staffing have led to longer waiting times, reduced patient care quality, and increased workload on available healthcare professionals.

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