UP pushes for better healthcare amid doctor shortages

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has made efforts to bring healthcare services closer to the common people. However, a shortage of doctors, some unfulfilled promises, and existing weaknesses indicate that the reform process is still incomplete.

The year 2025, which began with the Mahakumbh, was a year of achievements, from infrastructure expansion to improvements in emergency medical services, reforms, and stricter departmental discipline. Yet, it also highlighted several serious challenges.

Under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister and Medical Health Minister Brajesh Pathak, the Health Department made discipline and accountability its primary policy in 2025. Strict action was taken in cases of unauthorised absenteeism, negligence, corruption, and illegal private practice.

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More than 50 doctors were suspended or dismissed during the year. The department states that the aim of this strictness is not to instill fear among employees, but to protect the interests of patients, reports UNI.

In 2025, the state government placed special emphasis on strengthening primary healthcare services.

Under this initiative, Ayushman Arogya Mandirs were expanded in both rural and urban areas. By the end of the year, 22,775 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs became operational in the state, providing 58 types of essential medicines and 13 types of diagnostic facilities.

The deployment of Community Health Officers (CHOs) along with ANMs at these centres has enabled women and children to receive examination and treatment at the primary level. This has somewhat reduced the pressure on district hospitals and medical colleges for minor ailments.

Among the biggest achievements of 2025 were the launch of the Heart Attack (STEMI) Care Network and the Hub and Spoke model for the treatment of brain strokes. Under this model, major medical institutions in the state, such as KGMU, SGPGI, and Lohia Institute, were designated as hubs, while district hospitals and CHCs were connected to them as spokes.

Under this system, patients received primary treatment, CT scans, clot-dissolving medication (thrombolytic therapy), and prompt referrals during the 'golden hour.'

According to the health department, this network has saved the lives of more than 150 patients so far.

The government claimed that the response time of the 108 and 102 ambulance services has become the best in the country, and more than 2,500 new ambulances have been added to the fleet. This has increased access to emergency services in remote areas.

However, questions were raised about the functioning of these services in 2025. Complaints of delayed ambulance arrivals, staff shortages, and maintenance issues emerged from several districts. This highlighted the need to strengthen quality control and monitoring mechanisms alongside increasing the number of ambulances.

UP emerged as the leading state in the country in the year 2025 for Ayushman Bharat in the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. 5.21 crore Ayushman cards were made in the state, and more than 57 lakh patients got the benefit of free treatment.

This year, UP became the first state where Ayushman beneficiaries were provided an OPD counselling facility in private hospitals at subsidised rates. At the same time, by taking strict action in the cases of fraud, the recovery of crores of rupees gave the message that there will be no compromise on financial discipline.

Despite the expansion of such a large-scale structure, the shortage of doctors and specialist doctors remained the biggest challenge of the year 2025. Thousands of posts are vacant as compared to the sanctioned posts, especially in rural and remote areas. To solve the problem, the government hiked the retirement age from 62 to 65 years, appointed experts under NHM and carried forward the process of starting DNB courses in government hospitals.

Experts believe that these steps will give positive results in the medium and long run, but at present the shortfall at the grassroots level is clearly visible.

The massive fire at Lokbandhu Hospital in Lucknow was one of the biggest incidents of the year 2025, in which about 200 patients were evacuated safely. The incident raised serious questions on the fire safety system of the hospitals. After this, the government made fire mock drills, alarm systems and safe evacuation system mandatory in all government hospitals.

The Health Minister had announced to provide an MRI facility in all district hospitals in the year 2025, but this target could not be achieved by the end of the year. Even today, MRI tests are not available in district hospitals, due to which patients have to depend on private and expensive options. This issue is believed to be at the top of the priorities of 2026. The year 2025 was also historic in the field of medical education.

Around 81 medical colleges operated in the state, there was a record increase in MBBS and PG seats. The introduction of state-of-the-art facilities like robotic surgery, gamma knife, bone marrow transplant gave a new direction to both medical education and treatment.

However, due to the shortage of teachers, some colleges also faced difficulty in meeting the standards. At the same time, during the admission of MBBS in Uttar Pradesh under NEET UG 2025, a case of taking admission of freedom fighters by 64 students in 10 districts by putting a fake certificate of freedom fighter also came to the fore. Although these fake admissions were cancelled, the incident indicated loopholes in the admission system.

Mahakumbh 2025 became an achievement year for the health department. More than 7 lakh devotees were treated in Mahakumbh 2025, including experts from AIIMS, BHU and abroad (Canada, Germany, Russia) who provided all kinds of health services from major operations to minor treatments, and more than 2 lakh OPDs.

Expansion of infrastructure, improvement in emergency care and success of Ayushman Yojana were major achievements of the government. At the same time, questions still remain on shortage of doctors, lack of testing facilities like MRI, etc. The coming year 2026 will prove to be the real test of the policies and will of the government in the direction of removing these shortcomings.

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