Around 9 lakh ANM, 12.5 lakh Registered Nurses, Midwives in India: MoS Health

The information surfaced during a recent Rajya Sabha session wherein the MoS Health was about the Nurse-Patient ratio followed by the Government.

On this, the Minister notified the members that as per information provided by the Indian Nursing Council (INC) records, there are around 8,92,829 Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM), 21,51,850 Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (RN&RM) and 56,644 Lady Health Visitors (LHV) in the Country. Assuming 60% availability in the case of RN&RM and 80% in the case of ANM & LHV, the nurse population ratio would come to around 1:658 as per current population estimate of 135 crore.

The data on the average number of patients handled by a Government doctor in India is not maintained centrally, he added.

Also Read:155 health workers including 64 doctors succumbed to COVID-19: MoS Health Informs parliament

Moreover, on the doctor-patient ratio, as per information provided by the Board of Governors in supersession of Medical Council of India (MCI), 12,55,786 allopathic doctors are registered in the country as on 30th June 2020. Assuming 80% availability, it is estimated that around 10.05 lakh doctors may be actually available for active service.

It gives a doctor-population ratio of 1:1343 as per current population estimate of 135 crore against the WHO norms of 1:1000.

Besides, there are 7.88 lakh Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors in the country. Assuming 80% availability, it is estimated that around 6.30 lakh Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy (AUH) doctors may also be available for service and considered together with allopathic doctors, it gives a doctor population ratio of 1:825.