Shimla, March 19 The issue of doctor recruitment led to a heated exchange between Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday.
While Sukhu stated that the state currently has more medical colleges than needed, and therefore the government is unable to employ all graduates, Thakur disputed the figures presented by the chief minister, arguing that the reality is quite different.
Speaking in the House, Sukhu announced that no primary health center would remain without doctors in the next six months, as the government has already recruited 162 doctors, while recruitment of another 236 is underway.
In response to a question raised by BJP MLA Rakesh Jamwal, Sukhu said that the health department has sanctioned 2,337 posts for general practitioners and 683 posts for specialist doctors. Of these, 2,159 posts for general practitioners and 447 posts for specialist doctors have been filled.
He said that the state currently has more medical colleges than actually required, whereas the ideal number should have been limited to three or four. Consequently, he said, it is not feasible to provide government employment for all 870 MBBS graduates and 247 PG doctors who pass out annually.
He said that, given the limited resources, the government would initially focus on strengthening key departments across medical colleges over the coming year. It is currently undertaking a rationalisation exercise within the health department.
In order to address the shortage of specialist doctors, he said, the government is set to introduce postgraduate classes at medical colleges in Chamba, Nahan and Hamirpur.
For this, the government intends to amend the recruitment and promotion rules for assistant and associate professors within these medical colleges, Sukhu said, adding that, additionally, the number of PG seats has also been increased.
Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur countered this and said the figures presented by the chief minister in the House are not based on facts, and the reality is quite different.
He said the previous government had sanctioned 500 posts to address the shortage of doctors, out of which it recruited 300 doctors. But the current government took two-and-a-half years to recruit the remaining 200 doctors.
He said it is astonishing that the government lacks data regarding unemployed doctors.
Responding to this, Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil said that currently, the government is unable to employ all doctors who graduate each year.
In response to a question raised by Congress MLA Kewal Singh Pathania, the chief minister said the government has discontinued the practice of "walk-in interviews" to ensure that only highly competent doctors are selected.
He said that previously, a candidate required a minimum of 30 to 35 marks to pass the written examination, which his government has raised to 40 to 45 marks.
He emphasised that the state government is committed to promoting high-quality healthcare services, and to this end, it is purchasing machinery with an expenditure of Rs 3,000 crore.
The government has procured robotic surgery equipment at a price that is Rs 1 crore lower than the price paid by AIIMS Delhi, he said.
BJP MLA Vipin Singh Parmar demanded that the tender documents and other relevant records on the machinery procurement be tabled before the House.
The chief minister said the equipment was purchased from a globally renowned, top-tier manufacturer, and the entire procurement process was conducted strictly through the prescribed tender procedure.