According to the latest data available, of the required posts of 1624 general medical officers (GMOs) holding an MBBS degree 544 posts are vacant, for 289 sanctioned posts of specialist medical officers (SMOs) the vacancy is 244.
The six paramilitary forces that guard country's borders and take care of the internal security in inhospitable jungles of central and northeast India against insurgency are suffering from massive 41.3 % shortage of doctors that often leaves their jawans dead in want of speedy treatment.
Against the sanctioned requirement of 1918 doctors, the shortage currently stands at 792 posts of which the Centre has been able to fill 312 posts by short term contractual appointment and the remaining 480 posts are still lying vacant.
According to the latest data available, of the required posts of 1624 general medical officers (GMOs) holding an MBBS degree 544 posts are vacant, for 289 sanctioned posts of specialist medical officers (SMOs) the vacancy is 244.
ITBP desperately needs super specialist doctors to treat its personnel that often suffer from dangerous high altitude ailments but all the 5 sanctioned posts for super specialist doctors are lying vacant. Besides, 15 of the sanctioned 25 posts of SMOs also remain unfilled in ITBP.
"Many times our jawans die or lose their limbs in want of doctors near the base camps as precious time is waste to move them speciality hospitals in cities like Chandigarh, Dehradun, Delhi or Kolkata,"said a senior ITBP officer.
The case is no different for CRPF jawans serving in Maoist affected states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
The forces are badly in need to specialist doctors in streams like Orthopaedics, Anaesthesia, Pathology, Ophthalmology, Psychiatry, Radiology, Gynaecology and Paediatrics.
Central reserve police (CRPF), country's backbone for fighting Left Wing Extremism insurgency in central India and insurgencies and militancy in northeast and J&K, has the maximum shortfall of doctors – 162 GMOs and 134 specialist MOs.
"There are basically two reasons for this massive shortfall, one, better avenues and pay packages in private sector hospitals and two, tough serving conditions in inhospitable areas. At the most we get doctors on short term contractual basis that they often use to move to greener pastures after serving their terms. Very few want to join on permanent basis and their quality too is not comparable to the best in the field," said an official of a central armed police force (CAPF) serving in the position of a senior doctor.
The doctors, once recruited, are required to accompany battalions and units that often move to inhospitable operational areas and face the rigours of unsettled and tough living conditions.
The MOs taken in the pay scale of Assistant Commandant receive total emolument of Rs. 60,000, excluding house rent allowance (HRA), at the time of joining while SMOs, required to have PG degree plus a minimum of one & half years of experience in the concerned specialty taken in the pay scale of deputy commandant get total emolument of Rs 71,000, excluding HRA.
"While for a beginner, the salary is respectable but it fails to match the industry as they gain experience. A doctor having three years plus of experience easily gets Rs 1 lakh plus salary in private sector, while a specialist easily gets Rs 1.5 lakh plus. Besides this they also get the comforts of well-settled life with all the amenities that are missing in paramilitary forces," said sources.
In 2015, the union home ministry has entrusted Shastra Seema Bal (SSB) with the responsibility to conduct medical officers selection board (MSOB) to fill up 592 vacancies, including 372 GMOs and 220 SMOs.
According to sources, the month long applying period ending on December 14 has not generated a good response and once again they will have to rely on walk-in interviews to fill up posts through short term contractual appointment.
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