Akshay Azad
Early Times Report
Jammu, May 20: Community Health Centers, Public Health Centers and other health establishments in district Rajouri have been facing acute dearth of doctors for the last many months.
In absence of the specialist doctors, Indian System of Medicines (ISM) doctors have been running the show but they too re without salaries for the last more than three months.
Sources informed Early Times that against 142 posts of specialist doctors across district Rajouri, only 34 were in place and remaining 108 have been lying vacant, confronting people with untold miseries, who have no other option except moving to Government Medical College and Hospital Jammu (GMC) for treatment.
They further said that out of 42 permissible posts of doctors under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) only 28 were in position, while 14 posts were vacant.
According to norms, each Community Health Center (CHC) has sanctioned strength of four assistant surgeons, four posts of specialists including Gynecologist, Pediatrician, Surgeon, Physician.
All these posts of doctors and specialists are vacant in CHC Thriath and CHC Manjakote while in CHC Kalakote there was only one Assistant Surgeon.
In absence of specialists and doctors, sources said, ISM doctors have been running the show in the CHCs.
Apart from above said CHCs, nearly one dozen PHCs also do not have any doctor against sanctioned posts.
In each PHC, there is one post of Dental surgeon, two posts of Assistant Surgeons and one post of ISM doctors.
One each ISM doctor has been running these PHCs including PHC Khawoos, PHC Mogla, Garh, Dalohri, Lamberi, Langar, Ladoka, Seri, Gambir Mugla, Kallar Chatgar, Bagla Nadyla are the dispensaries where there was no doctor against the sanctioned posts.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Anees Altaf acknowledged the shortage and said that they have regularly been updating the vacancy and availability of doctors, adding that shortage of doctors was across country wide.
On being questioned about non-payment of salary to ISM doctors, he said that due to some funds paucity the salary was not given.
Director Health Dr. Baljeet Pathania said that many doctor had gone for MD training and they were scheduled to return to Health department on May 25, after which the posts of specialist doctors would be filled.
He further said that the matter was also taken up with the government to redress the shortage of doctors.
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