The health ministry believes this will produce at least 22,000 nurses annually and will reduce the shortage over time.
Faced with a shortage of five lakh nurses in India, the government is planning to open 267 nursing institutes in the next two years. The health ministry believes this will produce at least 22,000 nurses annually and will reduce the shortage over time. Currently, there is an estimated gap of one lakh auxiliary nurse midwives and four lakh general nurse midwives in the country.
According to an analysis by the health ministry, the estimated density of health workers in India is 20% less than the World Health Organisation prescription of 2.5 workers (doctors, nurses and midwifes) per 1,000 people. The disparity between urban and rural areas is significant — urban areas account for less than a third of India’s total population, but are home to a majority of health workers.
Another report by the Planning Commission says India needs at least six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and over two lakh dental surgeons. There’s a shortage of radiographers, x-ray technicians, physiotherapists, laboratory technicians, dental hygienist, orthopaedist and opticians too.
Incidentally, India ranks at the top of nations whose physicians are working in developed countries. In respect of nurses, it holds the second position after Philippines. India also emerged as a supplier of other categories of healthcare professionals, particularly radiologists, laboratory technicians, physiotherapists and medical rehabilitation workers.
According to the health ministry report, nurses have been underutilised in our doctor-centric system. They have a low position in the health workforce hierarchy even though they can deliver many of the basic clinical care and public health services at the community level, at a lower cost than trained physicians. Nursing education is also in a state of crisis. Many institutes are under-staffed and private institutes do not train nurses properly. Because several medical colleges have come up in the past decade, the overall production capacity of doctors and nurses was found to be higher in states with better health indicators, leading to distorted distribution of health workers. So while Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan and Union Territories like Delhi and Goa have a favourable ratio, Haryana, Bihar, UP, J&K and North East remain under-served.
Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government wants to bridge these regional imbalances. “That’s why new nursing institutes will be opened in the unserved districts,” said Azad, adding, “A new scheme to strengthen paramedical services is also being planned. We are setting a national institute of paramedical sciences at Delhi to upgrade the skills of paramedics in service. Regional institutes of paramedical sciences are also being set up.”
These measures will make it possible to train 15,000 paramedical staff annually, the government says. Plus, the increase 5,000 post-graduation seats for medical students. More measures need to be taken to combat the shortage.
“Doctors feel handicapped when they don’t have enough support staff. And so, they run to work in cities where nurses are available,” said Dr Ashok Adhav, president of the Indian Medical Association.
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