9,354 Vacant Doctor Posts at Rural PHCs, 1,796 at Urban PHCs: Shri JP Nadda

He also inquired if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for not filling the vacancies of medical professionals in each State.

The minister informed that Public Health & hospitals are state subjects and all the administrative and personnel matters related to human resources for health lie with the respective State/UT Governments. However, the Government of India has also taken various steps to support the increase in the number of doctors/ nursing staff available in the country.

Under the National Health Mission (NHM), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare provides financial and technical support to States/UTs to strengthen their healthcare systems by filling the gaps in human resources in secondary and primary care facilities (District hospitals and below) as per Indian Public Health Standards, based on the requirements posed by them in their Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) within their overall resource envelope.

As per the Management Information System (MIS) Report, March 2024, approximately 3.85 lakh additional human resources have been engaged by states with NHM funding support and deployed at various levels. This includes 17,485 General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs) and 80,890 Staff Nurses as of 31st March 2024. Additionally, as of 31.03.2024, more than 1.39 lakh Community Health officers (CHOs) are deployed at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.

Under NHM following types of incentives and honorariums are provided to encourage doctors to practice in rural and remote areas of the country:

1. Hard area allowance to specialist doctors to serve in rural and remote areas and for their residential quarters so that they find it attractive to serve in public health facilities in such areas.

2. Honorarium to Gynecologists/ Emergency Obstetric Care (EmoC) trained, Pediatricians & Anesthetist/ Life Saving Anaesthesia Skills (LSAS) trained doctors is also provided to increase the availability of specialists for conducting Cesarean Sections in rural & remote areas.

3. States are also allowed to offer a negotiable salary to attract specialists including flexibility in strategies such as “You Quote We Pay”.

4. Non-monetary incentives such as preferential admission in postgraduate courses for staff serving in difficult areas and improving accommodation arrangements in rural areas have also been introduced under NHM.

5. Multi-skilling of doctors is supported under NHM to overcome the shortage of specialists. Skill upgradation of existing Human Resources (HR) is another major strategy under NHM for improvement in health outcomes.