Assam: 25% of posts under National Health Mission lying vacant in state

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: At a time when the state is constructing new medical colleges and hospitals to give a boost to the health sector, the National Health Mission (NHM) in Assam has not been able to appoint the human resources required to man these institutions. In fact, 25% of various posts, from specialist doctors to their support staff, remain vacant.

According to a NHM source, the total number of approved positions in the case of specialists is 313 and the number of vacant posts is 113, which is 36% overall. In the case of medical officers (MBBS), 396 posts (27%) are vacant against 1455 approved positions. For staff nurses, 1485 posts (24%) are vacant against 6164 approved posts. In the case of ANMs, 1169 posts (20%) are vacant against 5742 approved posts. For community health officers (CHO), 750 posts (20%) are vacant against 3692 approved posts. In the case of pharmacists, 223 posts (24%) are vacant against 920 approved posts. 73 posts (6%) of lab technicians are vacant, against 1188 approved posts. Again, 9 posts (18%) of radiographers are vacant against 50 approved posts.

In the case of other posts, like that of delivery staff, 848 posts (67%) are vacant against 1264 approved posts. There are 705 posts (21%) of programme management (HR) vacant against 3300 approved ones. Also, 26 posts (5%) of Medical Officer (Ayur) are vacant of 511 approved posts. For Medical Officer (Homeo), 26 posts (10%) are vacant out of 250 approved posts. In the case of Dental Surgeons, 10 posts (4%) are vacant against 232 posts approved. 285 posts (54%) of Data Entry Operators are vacant against 523 approved posts. In the case of Support Staff (lumpsum), 607 posts are vacant (52%), against 1164 approved posts.

It is significant to note that there are 6121 health service institutions under the Health Department in the state. Of this, 4830 are health sub-centres, 1020 are primary health centres, 218 are community health centres, 18 are sub-district health centres, 21 are district hospitals, 13 are medical colleges, 2 are Ayurvedic hospitals, and 1 each are Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic colleges.

NHM sources said that recruitment is an ongoing process, and recruitment drives are regularly conducted after advertisements.

Also Read: Guwahati: National Health Mission Assam aims at health services for unreached (sentinelassam.com)

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