Even as Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij has embarked on an inspection spree to improve the healthcare system since the BJP Government came to power in the State, the health sector remains in ‘dismal condition’.
The State is witnessing acute shortage of manpower and massive gaps in health infrastructure. The National Health Profile 2015 that was released recently shows there are only 29 specialists working in Community Health Centres in the entire Haryana while there are only 395 doctors at Primary Health Centres.
In Haryana, every Government hospital serves over 1.6 lakh patients while there is only one bed for every 3481 persons in the State. Apart from this, every Allopathic doctor serves more than 10,000 people while a dental surgeon serve more than 47,000 people in Haryana, stated the National Health Profile released by Union Health Ministry.
Apart from this, Haryana is spending just 0.51 per cent of its Gross State Domestic Product for health sector while it registered `661 per capita health expenditure, remaining at the bottom in the list of northern States including Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
The monthly per capita household out-of-pocket medical expenditure in rural areas is `113 while it is `149 in urban parts of Haryana, as per the National Health Profile.
Earlier, the Rural Health Statistics 2014-15 released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had pointed out that the sub centres, PHCs and CHCs, which form the backbone of rural healthcare delivery apparatus are facing acute shortage of specialist doctors and functioning with meager manpower in Haryana.
It had revealed shortfall of 406 specialists including 102 paediatricians, 98 physicians, 103 OB&GY and 103 surgeons in CHCs, shortfall of 1387 health workers (male) at sub centres, 228 health assistants (male) at PHCs, 175 health assistance female at PHCs, 133 laboratory technicians in PHCs and CHCs, 62 pharmacists and shortfall of 56 radiographers in PHCs and CHCs.
According to Rural Health Statistics, for the rural population of 1,65,09,359 (as per census 2011), there are a total of 2569 sub centres against the requirement of 3301 such health centres and there is a shortfall of 89 Primary Health Centres with 461 PHCs in position at present.
Despite Haryana Government’s claims that “health for all” is a priority, the State Government has failed to recruit even a single medical officer and dental surgeon from November 2014 to August 2015 after coming to power in October last. What’s worse, 27 medical officers submitted their resignation and 25 others remained willfully absent during this time period. The State had 568 vacant posts of medical officers and 61 dental surgeons against the sanctioned strength till August 2015. Notably, the BJP led State Government has in September issued recruitment letters to 389 medical officers, albeit, many of them are yet to join their respective postings.