New Delhi:
The aim of providing quality health care to the common man has been severely hit by an acute shortage of doctors and specialists.
According to government data, 223 posts of doctors, 287 posts of nurses and 692 posts of paramedical and technical staff are currently vacant in a premier institute like AIIMS which caters to 9,197 patients on an average, every day, in the Out Patient Department (OPD).
In the three central government hospitals in Delhi, there is a shortage of 110 doctors in Safdarjung, followed by a vacancy of 91 doctors at Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) and associated hospitals and a vacancy of 87 doctors at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital.
Further, there are 406 vacant posts of nurses in LHMC, 217 in RML and 143 in Safdarjung hospital.
There is a vacancy of 195 paramedical and technical staff posts at LHMC, 99 posts in RML and 45 in Safdarjung.
The reasons for vacancies include promotion, retirement, resignation, termination, creation of new posts, death, non-availability of suitable candidates and low rate of joining at initial levels.
"Creations of posts in a hospital is an on-going process and the requirement of manpower is taken into account while approving the expansion and redevelopment of projects," said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in a reply to a written query in Parliament.