Narmada sub-district hospital reels under doctors' shoratge with 60 per cent posts lying vacant

Ahmedabad: A sub-district hospital in Narmada, Gujarat is facing a significant shortage of doctors, as the health department revealed on Monday that up to 60 per cent of doctor positions remain unfilled.

The district labelled as an 'aspirational district' currently has 15 filled positions out of the 37 sanctioned positions, leaving 22 positions vacant. Among these 22 vacancies, 13 positions have remained unfilled for the last three years.

Across Gujarat's sub-district hospitals, out of 922 sanctioned doctor and superspecialist positions, 323 remain unfilled, accounting for almost one-third of the total positions said the health department in a written response to a series of questions raised by Congress MLA Amrutji Thakor at the Gujarat State Assembly.

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Furthermore, around one-third or 110 of these vacancies have remained unoccupied for more than three years, while an additional 142 positions were intended to be filled within the past year, said the department.

The health department cited the vacancies as being due to "appointees declining the position, resignations, voluntary or age-related retirements, and a shortage of capable and qualified candidates".

As per the Indian Express report, the health department said that the tribal majority district has the highest share of vacancies among other Gujarat districts in its sanctioned posts for doctors and superspecialists at the sub-district hospital level as of December 31, 2023.

Government clinics and health centres also grapple with a similar problem. Approximately one-third of the sanctioned doctor and specialist positions across these facilities are currently vacant. As of December 31, 2023, out of 1,898 designated posts, 661 were found to be unfilled. Among these vacancies, 99 positions have remained vacant for three years, while 535 have been vacant for one year.

Among the districts, Kutch emerges as the most severely affected by the shortage of medical staff. Here, 70% of the sanctioned positions in government clinics remain vacant. Out of the 93 designated positions, 66 are yet to be filled, with 39 of them remaining vacant for three years.

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