*DB warns Govt against further laxity in filling posts
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 10: Making mockery of its own claims about providing quality and timely healthcare facilities to the people, the Health Department has admitted that 1596 posts of doctors and 2885 posts of para-medical staff are lying vacant in numerous health institutions of the State and 137 doctors are on unauthorized absence during the past quite long time. In this way, the Government has clearly indicated that healthcare is actually on crutches in Jammu and Kashmir and unless time-bound and remarkable steps are initiated, the situation is not going to show any sign of improvement.
The Health Department may have not made these startling revelations on its own but it was compelled to do so after the Chief Justice of State High Court, Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar took suo-moto cognizance of a news-item published in EXCELSIOR on July 12, 2015 under caption “No MBBS doctor in 15 PHCs of Udhampur, 112 posts lying vacant”.
While treating the news-item as Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Division Bench of the State High Court had on July 14, 2015 directed the State through Advocate General to file a report indicating the sanctioned strength of doctors and the para-medical staff in each District Hospital and Primary Health Centre of the State as also the details of the doctors and the para-medical staff actually working and the number of posts lying vacant.
In the latest details furnished by the Health Department, startling revelations vis-à-vis available manpower and vacancy position have come to the fore and the perusal of the same has clearly established that healthcare is actually on crutches in Jammu and Kashmir because of least attention from those at the helm of affairs. What to talk of doctors, even huge number of posts of para-medical staff have been lying vacant during the past quite long time and despite being aware of the prevailing situation the Government is boasting of having flagged health as priority sector.
In Jammu Division, against sanctioned posts of 2015, 878 posts of doctors are lying vacant while as in Kashmir division the number of vacant posts is 718 as against sanctioned strength of 2437. As per the break-up, 24 posts are lying vacant in Jammu district, 129 in Doda, 125 in Kathua, 58 in Kishtwar, 136 in Poonch, 137 in Rajouri, 74 in Ramban, 62 in Reasi, 25 in Samba and 88 in Udhampur district. Similarly, in Kashmir division, 72 posts are lying vacant in Pulwama, 19 in Ganderbal, 119 in Baramulla, 143 in Kupwara, 41 in Bandipora, 60 in Kulgam, 20 in Shopian, 63 in Anantnag, 71 in Budgam, 76 in Kargil and 59 in Leh district.
As far as para-medical staff is concerned, as against sanctioned posts of 5171, 1623 posts are lying vacant in Jammu division while as in Kashmir division, 1262 posts are lying vacant against sanctioned posts of 6371. Of 1623 vacant posts in Jammu division, 348 remain unfilled in Jammu,117 in Doda, 212 in Kathua, 107 in Kishtwar, 117 in Poonch, 200 in Rajouri, 132 in Ramban, 136 in Reasi, 137 in Samba and 117 in Udhampur.
Likewise, of 1262 vacant posts of para-medical staff in Kashmir division, 38 are lying vacant in Srinagar, 65 in Pulwama, 42 in Ganderbal, 281 in Baramulla, 233 in Kupwara, 25 in Bandipora, 138 in Kulgam, 21 in Shopian, 119 in Anantnag, 237 in Budgam, 48 in Kargil and 15 in Leh.
According to the data furnished to Division Bench by Deputy Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Depart-ment, 1719 doctors are serving apart from 772 doctors presently working under National Health Mission and 499 doctors are undergoing Registrarship/ Senior Reside-ncy/ Demonstratorship agai-nst deputation. Moreover, 137 doctors are on unauthorized absence and some are in leave reserve posts.
After the Government took action against the doctors who are unauthorisedly absent, only 32 doctors joined the respective Directorates and remaining are still absent. Advocate General, who was appearing on behalf of State, submitted before the Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Hasnain Massodi, “the General Administration Department has issued SRO 202 dated June 30, 2015 prescribing the mode of selection and recruiting agency has been asked to fill up the posts at the non-gazetted level on or before 31.08.2015”. He further submitted that the entry level gazetted posts are to be referred to General Administ-ration Department for being notified and the General Administration Department had already referred the recruiting agencies to fill up the vacancies.
However, after hearing Advocate General and going through the status report, the DB observed, “the affidavit filed by the Deputy Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Department, is not giving a clear picture about the actual vacancies and how much time is required for filling up the vacancies both in the category of Medical Officers and the para-medical staff”, adding “in such circumstances, this Court is inclined to issue directions considering the fact that right to health is a fundamental right guaranteed under the Article 21 of the Constitution of India to all the citizens which the Government is bound to take care of. In the absence of qualified doctors and para-medical staff, the patients will not be in a position to get proper treatment which will cause serious hardships and sometimes untimely deaths”.
The Division Bench further observed, “this court while disposing of LPA titled State & Ors Versus Sajad Ahmad Dar on 30.07.2015 has noticed that even in the jails, there are no Medical Officers and para-medical staff to give treatment to the inmates in the jails. This is a serious matter which has to be taken care of by the respondents”.
With these observations, the Division Bench directed Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Department to identify the vacant posts of Medical Officers and the para-medical staff in every hospital of the State as per the sanctioned strength and address to the concerned department to initiate the recruitment process of such posts within one month from the date of receipt of copy of this order.
Division Bench also directed the recruitment agencies to commence the recruitment process and complete the same within a period of three months from the date of request being received from the concerned department so that all the hospitals in the State will have Medical Officers and the para-medical staff to give treatment to the patients. “If any laxity is found in filling up the vacancies and if it is noticed by the court that unqualified persons are giving treatment to any patient, the same would be taken with all seriousness and this court may impose compensation to such patients against the State”, the DB made it clear.
The DB further said that no unqualified person should be allowed to treat the patients on the ground of non-availability of the Medical Officers/para-medical staff in any of the Government Hospitals/Sub District Hospitals/Primary Health Centres of the State. With these observations, Division Bench disposed of the PIL.
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