More than half of sanctioned doctor posts have been lying vacant in Odisha amid the COVID-19 pandemic, says information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The State has 8,719 sanctioned posts, filled by regular, ad hoc and contractual doctors. However, 4,493 doctor posts are lying vacant, accounting for 51.53%.
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According to information obtained by RTI activist Pradip Pradhan, only 3,682 regular doctors, 51 ad hoc medics, 407 contractual doctors and 80 doctors recruited through the District Mineral Fund were working by April this year.
“Tribal-dominated districts, which have poor track record in infant mortality and malnutrition, are the worst affected as 62% of doctor posts in these districts are lying vacant,” said Mr. Pradhan.
He said 260 doctors had been absconding for years together and the government was clueless in tracing and initiating action against them. “It is alleged that most of these absentee doctors are working in private hospitals and the administration is aware of it,” charged Mr. Pradhan.
Ganjam position
The RTI activist said Ganjam, which emerged as epicentre of COVID pandemic and the home district of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, had the highest number of 348 vacancies (62%).
Recently, the government faced criticism from Congress and BJP leaders as it had to shift more than 100 doctors from southern and western Odisha districts to Ganjam to tackle the pandemic.
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The government was also forced to increase the retirement age of doctors from 62 to 65, which was seen as a desperate attempt to retain doctors.
Faced with huge doctor vacancies and weak infrastructure in the government health system, the Naveen Patnaik government had to initially rope in private players to set up COVID hospitals to deal with exigencies.
