According to Dr Dharminder Nagar, MD, Paras Healthcare, shortage of doctors and specialists continues to be a major concern in Indian healthcare system. According to Statistics of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, around 8 per cent of the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across rural India were running without a doctor in 2014-15. At the same time, the Community Health Centres (CHCs) faced a whopping 81 per cent shortage of specialists. In some states and Union Territories, there is not even a single specialist practicing in public healthcare sector.
India has a dismal doctor patient ratio of 0.62:1000, implying is less than one doctor for 1,000 people. A study found that there was just one government doctor catering to 10,189 people. “An extreme shortage of specialists is a major roadblock in ensuring accessibility of treatment to all. India has only 650 specialists in Endocrinology at a time when over 70 million people have diabetes,” says Dr Nagar.