Shortage of free medicines despite huge Assam government spending

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Despite the Assam Government spending more than Rs 300 crore annually to provide free medicines in government hospitals, people often complain that they do not get free medicines in the hospitals and have to buy the medicines from pharmacies.

Many MLAs raised the issue of shortage of free medicines in government hospitals in the House today during the ongoing Budget session. The MLAs also raised the issue of insufficient number of doctors. They said that although new medical colleges had come up in the State, sufficient number of specialist doctors were not available in the medical colleges. The MLAs further said that the standard of medical education in the State was not high as compared to the medical education provided by national-level medical colleges.

In a written reply, minister Keshab Mahanta said that in this financial year, Rs 137 crore had been earmarked in the Central Government’s budget and Rs 186 crore in the Assam Government’s budget for free supply of essential drugs. Based on the National List of Essential Medicines, the Assam Government tries to provide essential medicines free of cost to patients in government health institutions.

The minister said that the government provides 261 types of essential medicines in district hospitals and model hospitals and 110 types of essential medicines in Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and state dispensaries. This apart, the National Health Mission (NHM) also provides funds for making essential drugs available free of cost in public health facilities. Under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, beneficiaries are reimbursed if they buy medicines which are not available for free in government health facilities. The minister further said that the government has also taken initiative to provide essential drugs free of cost to hospitals in tea gardens across the State.

On the other hand, while replying to the queries of the MLAs, Mahanta admitted that there was indeed a shortage of specialist doctors. “Between 1969 to 2009, no new medical college was established in the State. There were only three medical colleges in the State which were producing only a few medical graduates annually. Between 2009-2023, 12 medical colleges were started in the State, each of which has minimum 100 MBBS seats. We are hopeful that now we will be able to meet the shortage of doctors,” he said.

The minister further said, “There is a shortage of specialist doctors. In January 2023, 541 doctors had been recruited by the government, out of which only 80 were specialist doctors. The medical colleges in our State have 722 postgraduate seats. Out of these, 50% are all-India quota seats. After completing their postgraduation, these specialist doctors leave for their respective states. Out of the remaining specialist doctors, many prefer to join private hospitals instead of joining government service. To prevent this, we make them sign a bond that they must complete one-year government service and in case of non-adherence, doctors will have to pay a compensation of Rs 20 lakh to the government. But many doctors pay the money and leave government service.

“There are 1,653 posts of professor in medical colleges in the State out of which we have filled up 1,373 posts. There are also 300 posts of Registrar lying vacant in the medical colleges.”

The minister further said in the House that to improve the standard of medical education in the State, the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS) has taken up various steps. SSUHS has tied-up with other universities to close potential knowledge gaps and introduced many modern equipment to improve teaching skills.