THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department is grappling with a severe manpower deficit, with 783 vacant medical officer positions across all 14 districts. The shortfall spans the entire public healthcare hierarchy, ranging from entry-level assistant surgeons to senior administrative posts and chief consultants.
The acute staffing gap is most heavily concentrated in the entry-level assistant surgeon cadre, which accounts for 431 unfilled posts statewide. Kasaragod emerges as the hardest-hit district, reporting 113 assistant surgeon vacancies alone, followed by Palakkad with 87 and Kannur with 70. Outlying districts like Idukki and Pathanamthitta are also facing operational strains with 41 and 25 vacant assistant surgeon positions, respectively.
Beyond primary care, specialised medical services in public facilities are experiencing a major deficit, with over 300 specialist posts remaining open across consultant, junior consultant, and senior consultant ranks.
Key clinical departments, including obstetrics and gynaecology, anaesthesia, general surgery, paediatrics, and general medicine, are among the most severely impacted.
Against this backdrop of widespread vacancies, Health Minister K Muraleedharan announced the launch of ‘Prateeksha Centres’ - a project designed to provide 24x7 specialist services in general medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, paediatrics, and gynaecology at select district and general hospitals across every district.
While acknowledging existing staffing constraints, the minister said that the government will address manpower shortages gradually and work toward building stakeholder consensus.
The project was officially launched as a trial run in Punalur Taluk Hospital on September 1,but doctors are already pointing out its detrimental effects on the surrounding healthcare system.
Expressing strong concern over pulling medical personnel away from peripheral units without substitute appointments,Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) president Dr Sunil P K said,“The impact is already evident when the pilot project was launched in Punalur.”
He pointed out that a new project was launched when there is already vacancies in the existing posts.
According to KGMOA, the project was launched without much planning and redeployment from various public facilities to strengthen specialty care in select centres is likely to disrupt routine and emergency services elsewhere.
He pointed out that out of 430 recent appointment letters issued by the department, only 134 were received and only about half actually joined duty.
Addressing this issue, Director of Health Services in-charge Dr V Meenakshy stated that many newly appointed doctors have not joined because they are currently pursuing postgraduate medical courses.
The KGMOA cautioned that adding specialised services without adequate nursing, paramedical, and technical support, or without creating new permanent posts, will increase doctor workloads, degrade the quality of care, and strain doctor-patient relationships.
Warning that expanding the project to more districts without addressing the root cause will trigger widespread protests, the association urged the government to issue fresh appointments, distribute National Health Mission resources equitably, and formally upgrade regional facilities rather than resorting to disruptive staff transfers.