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Bhubaneswar, March 20: The state government will appoint 400 ad-hoc doctors this year, health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak informed the Assembly Friday.
The minister was replying to a question of Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati who had asked the government to respond on the large-scale vacancies in government-run hospitals across the state. “In order to fill vacancies, 400 doctors will be appointed to various hospitals in the state on an ad-hoc basis,” Nayak said.
The minister said the state has 4,843 doctor posts of which 4,343 have been filled.
The minister admitted to a shortage of doctors in the state. “As per Indian Public Health (IPH) Standards, the ratio of patients to doctors in Orissa should be 3,500:1 (one doctor for 3,500 patients), and as per the IPH standard, 11,540 doctors are required for the state,” Nayak said.
Congress member Chiranjib Biswal criticised the government for its dismal patient-doctor ratio of around 10,000:1, falling way short of the prescribed ratio. The minister said steps are being taken to comply with the IPH standard.
The minister also pointed out that though provisions are being made to appoint doctors in far-flung areas of the state, health professionals are unwilling to travel to the hinterlands.
“We have decided to provide ‘place-based incentives’ to doctors working in rural areas to address this problem,” Nayak said.
“The state government is concerned about the health of its people, and five new medical colleges and hospitals will be set up in the state for which tenders have already been finalised,” the minister informed the House.
To another query of Bahinipati on whether the state government is taking any steps to provide diploma courses to medical students in the state, Nayak said there was no such provision under the state government’s consideration at present.
Replying to queries of other MLAs, Nayak said, “The state government has made budget provision of `300 crore in the 2015-16 budget for development of infrastructure in hospitals across the state.”
The state government has also come up with a five-year plan for development of health infrastructure and the rural development department has been intimated in this regard, the minister added.
