As the problem of shortage is not solved by the government, the doctors continue to deviate from the hospitals

The shortage of doctors in many government hospitals in Tamil Nadu is once again in the news.

The recent order issued by the Collector to send doctors from various Primary Health Centers (PHCs) in the district to taluk and non-taluk hospitals on 24-hour duty once a week indicates how much the delay in addressing the manpower crisis is hurting the public. A group of government doctors say that the health sector.

In the order, the Thiruvannamalai Collector said that 18 doctors working in PHCs in Thiruvannamalai and Chair have been terminated due to shortage of doctors in hospitals under the Joint Director of Health Services (Government Hospitals under the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services). The Health Unit of the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine will be on duty once a week to divert 24 hours to a government hospital. These doctors were sent to taluk and non-taluk government hospitals including Thandrampet, Thanipadi, Chengam, Chetpet, Cheyyar, Arani and Vandavasi.

A doctor said there is a shortage of doctors in DMS institutions, with some hospitals having less than half of the sanctioned number. Because of this, doctors are taking 24-hour duty every third day in many hospitals. “Many districts including Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai are short,” he added.

For example, in Thiruvannamalai district, official data (as on November 6, 2024) showed that 62 of the total sanctioned posts of 130 doctors in 12 DMS institutions were vacant.

Data shared by the Service Physicians and Postgraduates Association (SDPGA) showed that 27 out of 76 doctor posts are vacant in six government hospitals in Myladuthurai and 38 out of 101 posts in Pudukottai district. “As of now, about 40% of doctor posts in DMS institutions are vacant. Due to the delay in conducting the Medical Services Recruitment Board examination, the vacancies have increased. The number of outpatients, inpatients and special service providers has increased in government hospitals. Similarly, the number of deliveries in the Comprehensive Emergency Maternity and Neonatal Care Center (CEmONC) has increased. However, the posts of doctors including obstetrician-gynaecologist, paediatrician and anesthetist for CEmONCs have not been proportionately increased…,” said P. Saminathan, president of SDPGA.

Minister of Health Subramanian recently said that the MRB exam for 2,553 doctor posts will be held on January 5, 2025. The notification for the exam was released in March this year.