Over 30 per cent Doctors, Nurses posts vacant at 21 AIIMS: Health Ministry

New Delhi: In a recent Lok Sabha session, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Jadhav, revealed that over 30% of posts for doctors, nurses and faculty members are lying vacant across 21 All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and three Central Government hospitals in the country.

According to the data presented by the Minister, AIIMS New Delhi has 432 vacant faculty positions out of 1,235 sanctioned posts, while 2,550 non-faculty posts remain unfilled. The situation is similar in other AIIMS branches, with Rishikesh reporting 141 vacant faculty positions and 1,381 non-faculty vacancies, and Patna struggling with 81 unfilled faculty roles and 1,391 non-faculty vacancies. The newly established AIIMS branches, including Rajkot and Madurai, are also struggling with a shortage of faculty and non-faculty staff. 

Also read- Shortage of Senior, Junior Residents at Delhi AIIMS: MoS Health informs Parliament

The MoS Health attributed the delay in recruitment to factors such as the shortage of qualified candidates, reservation policies, and the remote locations of certain institutes.   

The Minister was responding to queries raised by parliament members Shri Kaushalendra Kumar and Shri Ramprit Mandal. They sought to know details regarding the number of posts of doctors and nurses lying vacant in All India Institution of Medical Science (AIIMS) as well as in all the Central Government Hospitals in the country, the reasons for delay in filling the posts of doctors lying vacant in prestigious institutes like AIIMS, whether more than 30 per cent of posts at every AIIMS are lying vacant in the country causing a delay in the treatment of poor patients. 

Queries regarding whether all the Central Government hospitals, including AIIMS, are managing their work with temporary health staff, whether the Government is taking any steps to recruit doctors and nurses along with other staff in all the Central Government Hospitals, including AIIMS were also raised in the parliament. 

Responding to these queries, the Minister said, "Creation of posts and recruitment is a continuous process. Filling up of vacant faculty/ non-faculty positions is contingent on various factors, including availability of eligible, qualified doctors/health professionals, reservation roster, location of the Institute etc. Engagement of manpower on contractual/outsource basis is undertaken by the Institute as per need."

Providing data on the vacancy status of faculty and non-faculty positions at various AIIMS institutes across the country, the Minister shared a data which included all the AIIMS that are presently struggling with a shortage of medical personnel. 

According to the data shared by the MoS Health, the situation is equally concerning in Central Government hospitals. Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, has 172 vacant doctor posts and 304 nursing vacancies. Similarly, Lady Hardinge Medical College faces 89 vacant doctor posts and 179 unfilled nursing positions. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital reports 100 doctor vacancies and 99 nursing shortages.

To expeditiously fill vacant sanctioned positions in various Institutes, the Minister mentioned the following steps which have been taken by the Government:

(i) A Standing Selection Committee has been constituted in each AIIMS as per the provisions of the AIIMS Act to facilitate expeditious filling up of vacant faculty positions.

(ii) Conduct of Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI-CET) and Institute of National Importance Super Speciality (INI-SS) exam twice a year to select Junior Residents (Academic) and Senior Residents (Academic) for various AIIMS.

(iii) Conduct of Centralized Nursing Officer Recruitment Common Eligibility Test (NORCET) by AIIMS Delhi for recruitment of Nursing Officers twice a year for AIIMS, including Central Government Hospitals.

(iv) Conduct of Common Recruitment Examination (CRE) by AIIMS Delhi for recruitment of Group B and C non-faculty for AIIMS including Central Government Hospitals.

Also read- Around one-third Faculty, half of JR positions vacant at AIIMS New Delhi, Details