Odisha govt appoints 2,473 medical officers in one go
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government on Thursday inducted 2,473 medical officers and dental surgeons in the state health services cadre bringing down vacancies in the crucial posts to less than 35 per cent.
Addressing the newly recruited medical officers, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said the state government is committed to providing universal access to quality healthcare for all. He said the objective is ‘Sustha Odisha, Sukhi Odisha’ (Healthy Odisha, Happy Odisha) and the guiding principle to achieve it is ‘every life is precious’.
The chief minister urged the doctors to remember that every paisa spent on their salary, or for hospitals and institutions they are working in, is paid by the people of Odisha. “We are here to serve them. Ensure every patient feels a positive vibe when he or she visits you. Along with your professional excellence, your humane approach to patients can create confidence in them,” he said.
He said his government is on a mission to ensure massive infrastructure development in healthcare institutions. “We are set to produce eight times more doctors now than we were doing two decades back. We will come up with more medical colleges in a few years from now,” he stated. Apart from infrastructure, the process has begun for recruiting medical and para-medical officers on a large scale. In the current year alone, 3,600 medical officers have been recruited. In November, nearly 4,000 nursing officers had joined the state government.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Niranjan Pujari said the levels of IMR, MMR and anaemia have significantly improved in the state due to quality healthcare. Chairman of 5T and Nabin Odisha VK Pandian, Health Secretary Shalini Pandit and Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra also spoke.
Focus on health
The newly inducted medical officers include 2,392 MBBS doctors and 81 dental surgeons
The number of MOs in position has gone up to 10,605
The state has sanctioned strength of 8,774 regular MOs