Despite State Government’s round the year efforts to appoint doctors in rural areas, medicos hardly showed any preference to going to critical areas like Bastar, leading to almost all posts of doctors lying vacant in several districts to the most discomfiture of the State Administration.
Notably, to appoint doctors in hospitals located in remote corners of Chhattisgarh, the State Government invited online application round the year and even gave appointment to 453 doctors but to its great disappointment 250 doctors, more than 50 percent to whom it issued letters, did not join their duty when it cames to going areas full of risks. Whoever of the medicos accepted joining rural health set up, Bilaspur, Durg and Raipur districts were top on their choices.
Now, the Government is considering to inviting application again for appointment of 150 doctors procedure for which is likely to start soon.
As per its policy to extend health services to remote areas, the State Government is
opening new hospitals/ health centres both in urban as well as rural areas but lack of doctors is continuously felt in rural areas. In Bastar and other forested areas there is acute lack of doctors for a long time.
To fill this gap, from March 2012 the State Government invited online application throughout the year and even issued appointment letter to 453 of them. But the Government’s efforts suffered severe set back when 250 doctors out of 453 did not report to their places of postings.
According to health department officials selected doctors were appointed in urban as well as rural areas but a major portion of those who were given postings in rural areas did not join their services. Even those who joined service in rural areas preferred Bilaspur the most and Durg and Raipur districts were second and third on their choice list.
In Bastar, Dantewada, Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur as well as other tribal and forested areas received the least number of doctors leading to most of the posts of doctors in these areas still vacant.
According to health department officials, nearly 300 posts of medical officers are vacant presently and the department is making fresh preparations for appointing 150 doctors, application for which will be invited soon.
According to officials, the department is making efforts to appoint doctors to fill all the vacant posts of doctors. Gradually when all the doctors posts will be filled then rural people will also don’t have to face discomfort in easy health care, the officials expressed the hope.