Gurgaon: Over 700 new medical officers are set to join Haryana govt hospitals in March. Sources said approximately 200 of these doctors are specialists. The medical officials will be appointed at hospitals to facilitate smooth OPDs and emergency services across the state.
Officials have confirmed that the 777 new medical officers will receive their appointments after the municipal elections in Haryana. This influx of medical professionals is expected to alleviate the severe shortage in govt-run hospitals across the state, which currently lack over 900 medical officers against a sanctioned strength of 3,902.
The appointments follow a written examination conducted in Rohtak last Dec. Director general of health services (Haryana) Manish Bansal on Sunday uploaded the result on the health department website. The shortlisted candidates were asked to present their original documents for verification on Jan 17 at the Panchkula office.
Dr Virender Yadav, director, health services (Haryana), said, “The shortlisted candidates will have to come for biometrics and document verification to Panchkula.”
Yadav, who is also member secretary, high power selection committee for medical officers, said, “The new medical officers will receive their appointments after the municipal elections in Haryana. The written test was conducted for 777 in all categories and we were able to successfully find candidates in all categories.”
With a vacancy rate of 23%, Haryana has only 3,305 medical and senior medical officers to serve a population of 2.8 crore, falling short of the World Health Organisation’s recommended doctor-patient ratio of 100 doctors per lakh population. The addition of these new medical officers is anticipated to significantly enhance healthcare services and accessibility for residents across the state.
Whilst the out-patient and inpatient departments in the 59 civil hospitals, 119 community health centres and 486 primary health centres of the state are inundated with patients, staff shortages in most medical and technical departments have further exacerbated the situation.
According to health department data, 132 (of the 707 sanctioned posts) dental surgeons, 255 (of 350) radiographers, 26 (of 35) dieticians and 353 (of 1,085) drug control officers’ posts remain vacant to date. Of the total 23,607 sanctioned posts, an estimated 6,500 are unfilled.
Health officials have highlighted that the mounting vacancies of doctors in the public healthcare sector were predominantly due to the reluctance of several qualified medical professionals to join govt hospitals even though a state job, otherwise, is sought after by many. In 2022, the health department had filled up 2,389 posts across the state.
Of this, 855 appointment letters were for doctors alone but only 690 have joined the service.
