Gujarat: Staff crunch hits government medical colleges

Even as the state aspires to increase the number of medical seats to accommodate more students under the Economic Weaker Section (EWS), questions in the Assembly revealed that the six government medical colleges in the state alone have more than 25% vacancy.

This means a quarter of all posts in government medical colleges are yet to be filled.

The vacancies are at all levels in the colleges. BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad is the better off in terms of shortage of staff. In all, the prestigious college has a vacancy of just 13.7 %. Against a total staff strength required of 828, the vacant posts are 114.

The maximum number of vacancies in BJ Medical College is in the class 3 section. It should be noted that the class 3 and class 4 sections which also include technicians are often filled on contract-basis and not through government appointments. BJ Medical College is also one of the few medical colleges to have almost no shortage of doctors.

Health Minister Nitin Patel admitted that the issue is grave and the state is doing everything to fill the vacancies. "The fact is that as per MCI guidelines each post has certain criteria. In the case of doctors, they need to have certain years of experience. We cannot overlook these criteria just to fill the posts. Even in the case of Class 3 and 4 employees which include technicians, these criteria need to be fulfilled. This delays appointments," said Patel. He said the government was also making use of Ayush doctors to bridge the gap in health services.