SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir’s health sector is grappling with a significant manpower crisis, with 12,614 posts of medical officers, paramedics and nurses lying vacant across government health institutions, according to information furnished by the Health and Medical Education Department in response to a starred Assembly question by Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi, MLA Budgam.
The department has reported 2,891 vacant medical officer posts and 9,723 paramedical and nursing vacancies across the Union Territory. The scale of the shortfall spans major tertiary-care institutions, government medical colleges, health directorates and other health establishments, raising concerns over the availability of adequate personnel across the public healthcare system.
The institution-wise details provided in the government’s Annexure-A show that the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) has 150 vacant medical officer posts and 1,216 paramedical and nursing vacancies. The Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir (DHSK), is listed with 967 vacant medical officer posts, while the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu (DHSJ), has 462 medical officer vacancies and 2,744 paramedical and nursing posts lying vacant.
The Directorate of Ayush has 55 vacant medical officer posts and 115 paramedical and nursing vacancies. Among the government medical colleges, GMC Jammu is listed with 150 vacant medical officer posts and 1,216 paramedical and nursing vacancies, while GMC Udhampur has 66 medical officer vacancies and 1,216 paramedical and nursing posts vacant.
GMC Rajouri has 32 vacant medical officer posts and 30 paramedical and nursing vacancies. GMC Kathua has 118 medical officer vacancies and 266 paramedical and nursing posts vacant, while GMC Doda has 114 and 64 vacancies in the respective categories.
GMC Srinagar has 474 vacant medical officer posts and 531 paramedical and nursing vacancies. GMC Anantnag is listed with 107 vacancies in each category, while GMC Baramulla has 62 vacant medical officer posts and 260 paramedical and nursing vacancies. GMC Handwara, meanwhile, has 134 vacant medical officer posts and 378 paramedical and nursing vacancies.
The institution-wise figures in the supplied text contain apparent OCR and column-alignment errors and do not fully reconcile with the department’s stated UT-wide totals. The overall vacancy figures of 2,891 medical officers and 9,723 paramedical and nursing personnel are, however, explicitly stated in the government response.
Acknowledging the staffing gaps, the department said it continues to manage vacancies through interim arrangements, including personnel engaged under the National Health Mission (NHM) and on academic arrangement basis, wherever feasible and administratively permissible.
The government also reported progress on recruitment, stating that 416 Medical Officers selected through the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) had been received by the department. Appointment orders have been issued for 335 of them.
In addition, 1,567 paramedical and non-gazetted posts have been referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for selection of suitable candidates.
The response, however, does not specify a timeline for completing these recruitment exercises or indicate how much of the existing vacancy burden will be addressed through the appointments currently underway.
