As many as 190 posts of doctors are lying vacant in the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) which is also functioning as hospital for the Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital.
The patients visiting the DHH especially the poor are suffering untold woes in the want of specialist doctors.
While there is a paucity of doctors on the one hand, on the other in most of the cases patients are being referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital or other hospitals even though it is almost three years the DHH is operating as a medical college hospital.
Sources said that out of 373 posts of doctors across the various healthcare centres in the district, the DHH's current strength is 183 . While 146 doctor posts are lying vacant in various healthcare centres across the district, in the DHH alone the vacant position is 44 .
Most importantly, absence of doctors in the departments where the sanction post is only one, is a cause of concern.
The vacant posts which are seriously affecting the healthcare system are in Neuro, Radiology, Anesthesia Paedtatirc, ENT, Surgery, Ortho, besides TB, Leprosy and Disease Control etc.
The residents of the district are irked over the absence of doctors, super specialty facilities. “On an average around 20-25 patients are referred from DHH daily to Cuttack stating reason of no testing facility and no doctor etc,” alleged secretary, Senior Citizens Forum Laxmidhar Behera.