NEW DELHI: After a year’s delay, the Delhi government's centralised recruitment committee has finally begun the recruitment process for nearly 1,600 long-vacant Senior Resident doctor posts across its government hospitals.
The move is expected to ease the huge manpower shortage in government hospitals that has been impacting patient care and overburdening existing medical staff.
“The Centralised Recruitment Committee constituted by the Department of Health & Family Welfare (H&FW), Government of NCT of Delhi, invites applications from all eligible Indian citizens for appointment to the post of Senior Resident on a regular basis in various specialities and superspecialities in hospitals and medical institutions of the Delhi government,” a public notice issued by the Health Department read.
The long-pending recruitment will fill 1,593 vacancies that have remained unaddressed for years, leading to a shortage of doctors in key departments--from operation theatres to emergency wards--across all major hospitals in the city.
Medical associations have been raising concerns over the mounting workload on the staff and quality of patient care. A doctor from GB Pant Hospital had recently resigned, citing staff shortages and long working hours.
The centralised recruitment committee, which is now spearheading the process, was formed in September 2024 following protests by medical professionals in the aftermath of the RG Kar incident in Kolkata.
One of the primary demands of the protesting doctors was the immediate recruitment of resident doctors to address the severe shortfall across Delhi’s government hospitals.
Responding to the agitation, the then AAP government set up the committee and directed hospitals not to conduct direct recruitments.
However, despite its formation, the committee failed to conduct any recruitment drive over the past year, worsening the manpower crisis.
When those in the final year of residency left after completing their course, hospitals were forced to function with remaining staff, which led to wait times for patients.
"The recruitment drive was essential to ensure hospital services can run smoothly and without interruption. The shortage had reached a critical point,” an official from the health dept said.
