BHUBANESWAR: How many posts of doctors are vacant in Odisha? Interestingly, the State government has four different answers to the query. It has provided four figures related to sanctioned strength and doctors in position in the last 10 months.
In March, Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das informed the Assembly that of the 8,719 sanctioned posts of doctors in the State, 7,024 are in position. It translates into 1,695 vacancies which is around 20 per cent (pc) of the sanctioned strength.
In a written reply to a similar question during the Winter session in December, the Minister stated that the State has vacancy in 2,417 posts of doctors (around 27 pc of the sanctioned strength).But before the Assembly session, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Health and Family Welfare department Raj Kumar Sharma had last month informed the Orissa High Court (HC) that there were 1,985 vacant posts of medical officers - 6,744 were in position against a sanctioned strength of 8,729 posts.
Surprisingly, the department in its December 15 affidavit in the HC has submitted that there is a vacancy of 3,734 posts (around 44 pc) in both general duty medical officers and specialists against the sanctioned strength of 8,546.
While 3,315 general duty medical officers are in position against 5,838 posts sanctioned, 1,497 specialists have been appointed in place of 2,708 posts. The vacancy position is up by 24 pc during the 10-month period (from 20 pc in March to 44 pc in December).
At a time when the people are struggling to get proper medical care in the absence of infrastructure and required number of doctors, four different figures on the vacancy position by the department has left the health experts surprised. While the Minister has placed two different vacancy positions in the Assembly, the Health Secretary has submitted two affidavits mentioning separate numbers, they pointed out.
“The data indicates that 1,317 government doctors have left their jobs in the State this year. It is a matter of concern and serious introspection, if the data is correct,” pointed out a former officer bearer of Odisha Medical Services Association (OMSA), the body of government doctors.
The government’s decision to allow doctors from outside the State to join the Odisha Medical and Health Services (OMHS) cadre received a jolt as the department did not get the response it expected during the last recruitment drive.
“Doctors are joining OMHS at a regular interval. But many of them are being diverted to medical colleges for teaching leading to vacancies. This practice should be stopped and doctors be appointed in the Odisha Medical Education Service cadre for teaching,” the OMSA member added.