State capital Gandhinagar is the only district in Gujarat that does not face a shortage of specialist doctors in government hospitals. From the 922 posts for specialist doctors sanctioned overall, 323, or one-third, are still vacant in other districts. Seventeen posts were sanctioned for Gandhinagar, and all have been filled.
The data was shared by the government while replying to an unstarred question by Anklav MLA Amit Chavda. It stated that out of the 323 vacant posts for specialist doctors, 110 have been vacant for over three years and 71 have been vacant for more than two years.
The government also stated that out of the 1,898 posts for regular doctors sanctioned, 661 remain vacant. Of these, 99 posts have been vacant for over three years while 27 have remained unfilled for two years. From the 99, Kutch had 39 posts vacant — the highest — followed by 10 each in Amreli and Banaskantha. In Gandhinagar, only six posts are vacant against the sanctioned 51. Of these six, five have been vacant for nearly a year and one has not been filled in two years.
The govt said doctors were unwilling to accept their postings and would resign. Besides, specialist doctors were taking voluntary retirement, it said, adding that the posts will be filled on doctors’ availability. A senior officer at a district hospital said a post of gynaecologist has been vacant for over three years and that in the absence of full-time doctors, the hospital is forced to get part-time doctors. It often happens that the doctor who is on panel is busy at his hospital due to which one has to be contended with a junior doctor, the officer said.
The state has Rogi Kalyan Samiti, a registered society acting as a group of trustees for hospitals, through which they get doctors. The officer added that due to absence of doctors, serious cases are transferred to hospitals in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot or Surat, which too face a similar situation but at least, have one full-time specialist. Speaking about zero vacancies in Gandhinagar, the officer said the state capital has the secretariat, ministers and senior bureaucrats and hence, whenever a post falls vacant, a doctor is transferred at the earliest. Also, it’s closer to Ahmedabad for the appointee. A doctor, who refused appointment in Amreli or Banaskantha, will readily accept the move to Gandhinagar.
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