Haryana Govt Hospitals grapples with shortage of staff, Patient services hit

The situation is similarly alarming at the Samalkha 50-bed Civil Hospital, which is also facing an acute shortage of doctors. In November 2023, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that the hospital would be upgraded to accommodate 100 beds. Despite having a sanctioned strength of 11 doctors, the hospital is currently staffed with only five. The lack of specialists further complicates the provision of comprehensive care to the population in this area.

According to data from the district Health Department, several critical positions remain vacant across various health facilities. The district is facing a shortage of six deputy civil surgeons, with only three posted against the sanctioned strength of nine. Additionally, nine Senior Medical Officers (SMOs) are posted, while the sanctioned strength is 16. 97 medical officers are working, though the sanctioned strength is 147. The district also has a shortage of 35 lab technicians, with only 11 working against the sanctioned strength of 46. Similarly, 19 pharmacists are working, while the sanctioned strength is 41, and 10 radiographers are working against 15 sanctioned posts. Furthermore, there is no dental assistant-cum-mechanic in the district.

The state government had also announced plans to provide better health facilities with advanced medical services including MRI, CATH lab, CT scan, hemodialysis, and blood bank to patients. The CT scan and hemodialysis facilities are currently being run under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

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The blood bank, which was announced five years ago, only became operational in May 2023, highlighting the government's failure to act swiftly in addressing healthcare needs. Dr Jayant Ahuja, the Civil Surgeon, stated that the government has regularly requested more doctors and that the recruitment process for 766 doctors is underway at the government level.