Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Oct 19: To ease the burden on city hospitals, the Health department is going for a major reshuffle to strengthen the understaffed health care centres in far-flung areas in J&K.
Sources in the Civil Secretariat told Early Times that the Health department has sought a list of overstaying doctors in hospitals and other health care centres of the state.
They said the department was making a list of doctors who have not served in rural areas so far so and that they could be sent to rural areas. "The step is aimed at decrease in referral cases of patients and would reduce the burden on city hospitals," a senior official of the Health department said.
Official figures reveal that in the rural health, J&K is facing dearth of almost 50 percent manpower, especially doctors.
The figures reveal that state has deficiency of around 7,000 employees including doctors, affecting the health sector.
Earlier, the government had issued an order in which it was mandatory for a doctor to serve in a rural area for strengthening of health centres in far-flung areas in the state.
Ironically, the order was not implemented on the ground after most of the doctors opposed it as they were willing to serve only in district hospitals and various hospitals in Srinagar and Jammu district.
The official said all the overstaying doctors would be transferred very soon to overcome the dearth of doctors in rural areas. He said the reshuffle will take place in all 22 districts of the state.
"Those doctors who have served in cities only will be sent to rural areas to strengthen the understaffed hospitals in rural areas. Every doctor has now to serve in rural area," he said.
He said he will make the doctors accountable to work for the welfare of the people.
Jammu and Kashmir has deficiency of 1,700 health institutions. Kashmir lacks 42 Community Health Centres (CHC), 122 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and 898 Sub-Centres (SCs) as per population norms presenting a dismal picture of the health scenario of the State.
Similarly, the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu, is deficient by 22 CHCs, 79 PHCs and 594 SCs. |
