SRINAGAR: As many as 3,190 posts are lying vacant in the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, including 2,744 vacancies among paramedical and other staff, according to the Health and Medical Education Department’s reply in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
The overall manpower position of the Directorate shows that against a sanctioned strength of 11,649 across four categories, only 8,459 personnel are currently in position, leaving 3,190 posts vacant.
The highest number of vacancies is among paramedical and other staff. Against 9,434 sanctioned posts in this category, 6,690 are in position, leaving 2,744 vacancies.
The Directorate also has 276 vacancies among Medical Officers. Against 1,750 sanctioned posts, 1,474 Medical Officers are in position.
Among consultants, 291 are in position against 443 sanctioned posts, leaving 152 vacancies. The position is also short at the senior consultant level, where only four of the 22 sanctioned posts are filled and 18 are vacant.
Thus, the vacancy position comprises 18 senior consultants, 152 consultants, 276 Medical Officers and 2,744 paramedical and other staff, taking the total to 3,190.
The figures were furnished by the Health and Medical Education Department in response to a question tabled in the Assembly by MLA Hasnain Masoodi. The reply gives the manpower position specifically for the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir.
On the question of alternative arrangements to address staff shortages, the department said that no mechanism for engagement through the Health Development Fund is under consideration “as of now”. It said that if such a proposal is taken up, it would be examined on its merits.
The government said Jammu and Kashmir has around 4,000 health institutions and cited a 2023 report of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to state that J&K has one health institution for approximately every 3,500 people, compared with the national average of around 6,000 people.
According to the department, the government’s present approach is to consolidate and strengthen existing health facilities in accordance with the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) 2022 norms, besides rationalising available manpower and expanding the use of telemedicine through the eSanjeevani hub-and-spoke model.
The manpower figures show that the shortage in the Kashmir division’s health services extends across all four categories reported by the Directorate, with the largest gap occurring among paramedical and other staff.
