Mumbai: “Maharashtra is the second most populous and the third largest state in terms of area in the country. Providing adequate and quality healthcare services to a large population requires a robust healthcare infrastructure and services,” stated a CAG report on the public healthcare system tabled in the legislative assembly on Saturday. The report stated that while there are 11,394 sanctioned posts for doctors at various levels in state-run hospitals, only 8,330 posts are filled, and about 27% remain vacant.
“Healthcare like the education sector is a human resource-intensive sector, yet govt hasn’t been recruiting as it should be,” said Dr Abhijit More from the Aam Aadmi Party. Public healthcare, he said, is a neglected field since economic reforms were launched. “The focus since then has been on cutting down public sector allocations and promoting private participation. Health activists have cried themselves hoarse pointing out the need to recruit more medical staff, but in vain,” he said. The need for a well-staffed public sector was underlined during the Covid-19 pandemic, but even after the lessons learned during the crisis, there are no moves to step up, he said. “Our health budget is low and expenditure erratic in that inflated bills are often submitted in the last quarter or March,” said the doctor, adding there should be better coordination between the finance and health departments.tnn
Mumbai: “Maharashtra is the second most populous and the third largest state in terms of area in the country. Providing adequate and quality healthcare services to a large population requires a robust healthcare infrastructure and services,” stated a CAG report on the public healthcare system tabled in the legislative assembly on Saturday. The report stated that while there are 11,394 sanctioned posts for doctors at various levels in state-run hospitals, only 8,330 posts are filled, and about 27% remain vacant.
“Healthcare like the education sector is a human resource-intensive sector, yet govt hasn’t been recruiting as it should be,” said Dr Abhijit More from the Aam Aadmi Party. Public healthcare, he said, is a neglected field since economic reforms were launched. “The focus since then has been on cutting down public sector allocations and promoting private participation. Health activists have cried themselves hoarse pointing out the need to recruit more medical staff, but in vain,” he said. The need for a well-staffed public sector was underlined during the Covid-19 pandemic, but even after the lessons learned during the crisis, there are no moves to step up, he said. “Our health budget is low and expenditure erratic in that inflated bills are often submitted in the last quarter or March,” said the doctor, adding there should be better coordination between the finance and health departments.tnn
