Bhubaneswar: An RTI query has revealed that 1,978 posts are lying vacant at the well known All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar (AIIMS Bhubaneswar).
TOI reports about the revelation as per which out of the 305 posts sanctioned for faculty members, 114 posts are lying vacant. The institute has already filled up 1921 posts of the non-faculty members, however, more than half of the total posts intake 1,864 non-faculty posts are lying vacant as the total number of the sanctioned posts for AIIMS Bhubaneswar are 3776. There are also 100 senior and junior resident vacancies in the institution.
This came after a plea was submitted by an activist. The details, valid as on July 1, were provided by the central public information officer of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, S K Pani.
Times of India reports that while many of the sanctioned posts are still lying vacant for faculty members and non-faculty members, the hospitals are getting an increasing number of patients each year. The hospital has to treat at least the hospital 6.36 lakh OPD patients and 18,026 IPD patients. OPD and IPD patients touched 8.16 lakh and 20,179 respective in 2018-19. Considering this hike in the number of patients and the workload, a scarcity of health workers is found in the institution.
In the plea,
the petitioner mentioned, "The number of patients is increasing every year, but the vacant posts are not getting filled up. This creates a problem for patients coming from different parts of the state and neighbouring West Bengal. For a CT scan or MRI, sometimes patients wait for more than a month or two. Due to the lack of doctors and other staff, people wait for days to undergo surgeries."
TOI further reports that the hospital apart from the shortage of staff is also facing problems on the technical and mechanical ground. At least 11 medical machines are not in their proper condition to function.
When asked about the technical problems and maintenance of machines, AIIMS Bhubaneswar director Gitanjali Batmanabane told TOI that "any equipment which is not working will be repaired as we have a comprehensive maintenance contract. We have 52 ECG machines, 518 syringe infusion pumps, more than 500 cardiac monitors, and defibrillators. If one is under repair, it will not impact the working of the hospital at all."
Commenting on the vacancies, she also added, "Out of 1,864 vacancies, 700 posts will be filled up by promotion and around 100 posts by deputation. The vacancies which are not filled up by promotion have been caused by non-availability of eligible staff at the lower posts as they are not completing the required length of service. AIIMS Bhubaneswar is a new institution and therefore regular staff has been hired during the last few years. So they need to have the required number of years."
She further informed that many of the vacancies are lying vacant due to the unwillingness of the doctors to join certain courses. She told a daily that "There are some courses for which residents do not want to join and we don't have some courses in certain subjects. Appointment orders have been issued for about 200 nurses and paramedical staff. AIIMS New Delhi has issued an advertisement for 600 nurses for all the new AIIMS."
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