RTI reveals 70 faculty posts vacant at Safdarjung Hospital

New Delhi: Among the 398 sanctioned teaching posts at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC) and Safdarjung Hospital, 70 posts are currently vacant, a Right To Information (RTI) reply has revealed, raising concerns about patient care and medical education at one of the country’s largest central government hospitals.

According to the RTI response, 365 faculty members are currently working at the hospital; however, shortages continue due to the uneven distribution of faculty across departments. Of those in position, 346 are regular faculty members, and 19 are working on contractual appointments.

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Issuing the response on December 27, 2025, the hospital administration revealed the department-wise data. According to the list, clinical haematology has only two faculty members in place against 11 sanctioned posts, leaving nine vacancies. Neurology is short of eight faculty members, while cardiology, a high-burden tertiary-care service, is functioning with seven vacancies out of 12 posts. Neurosurgery is also operating with five vacant positions.

Anaesthesia, central to surgical and emergency services, is facing a shortage of six faculty members. Medical oncology has two sanctioned posts, but none are currently in position, while nuclear medicine and urology have three and four vacancies, respectively. There are similar shortages in pathology, physiology, pulmonary medicine, endocrinology and forensic medicine.

As per a latest TOI media report, the shortage of faculty has resulted in persistent staffing gaps in several critical departments as well as internal imbalances, rather than uniform faculty deployment.

Responding to the RTI findings, Sakshi Chhugh, public relations officer, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, said, "The hospital has a sanctioned strength of 398 teaching posts, of which 345 are presently occupied by regular faculty and 18 by contractual faculty. Interviews for the remaining 35 posts had already been conducted, and appointments would be finalised in due course as per prescribed recruitment procedures. The hospital continues to ensure that academic activities, teaching programmes and patient care services remain uninterrupted."

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