TNR Report Card: 50% posts vacant, Himachal Health Department left ailing by Sukhu govt’s ‘apathy’

The Newz Radar

SHIMLA: Responsible for ensuring the well-being of the people of Himachal Pradesh, the state’s Health Department itself has been ailing with the high numbers of vacancies taking a toll on operations. What’s worrisome is that at the level of officers, who are assigned the task of policy formulation, about 50 per cent of the posts are vacant.

Things have come to such a passe that the department lacks a permanent director. An officer of the rank of officiating Joint Director has been given the charge of Director of Health Services (DHS). While the government has been benefitting its “loved ones” by giving them extension after retirement, there are a large number of doctors who are waiting for jobs despite the completion of their MBBS course.

The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government has been claiming better health services in the state, but the ground reality is that a large number of posts of officers, who play an important role in health services, are vacant. As the Health Department is not taking any steps to fill these posts, the implementation of various health programmes is getting affected badly.

5 of 6 posts of Deputy Director, 12 of 17 posts of MS vacant
There are six posts of Deputy Director in the Health Department, of which five posts are vacant, which makes up for over 80 per cent vacancy ratio. Deputy Directors play a crucial role in monitoring various health programmes. Similarly, more than 80 per cent posts of Medical Superintendent, who are responsible for the smooth functioning of hospitals, are vacant in hospitals across the state. Of the 17 posts of Medical Superintendent in the department, only five posts are filled while the remaining 12 are vacant.

40 posts of Block Medical Officer vacant
Forty of the 78 posts of Block Medical Officer (BMO) are vacant in Himachal Pradesh. There are several hospitals where the responsibility of BMO has been assigned to doctors serving on contract. Apart from treating patients in hospitals, the doctors have been somehow managing the BMO’s role too.

Extension given to 2 officers after retirement
Two posts of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) posted in districts of the state are vacant. But to ensure that it the posts do not remain vacant, the government has adopted the formula of giving extension after retirement. It is being said that the government has given extensions to two CMOs, of whom one officer has been given an extension for one year while the other has been given an extension of first six months and now again for three months. This is when there is no dearth of doctors eligible for promotion in the department and doctors have been waiting for promotion for several years. It is being said that a file related to the promotion of Deputy Director, CMO and MS was sent to the government by the department in July, but it is gathering dust in the Secretariat. The officers who are to be promoted will not put any extra financial burden on the department as the officers eligible for promotion are already drawing higher salary than their posts.