Parliament Question: Shortage of doctors and healthcare resources in government hospitals

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 441 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2026 SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS AND HEALTHCARE RESOURCES IN GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS # 441 DR. SANDEEP KUMAR PATHAK: Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state: (a) the details of the number of vacant posts of doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff against their sanctioned posts in central and State Government hospitals across the country, State-wise; (b) whether Government has implemented measures like financial incentives, mandatory service provisions or special recruitment schemes to ensure availability of specialist doctors in rural, tribal and remote areas, if so, the details thereof; and (c) the number of projects sanctioned for the establishment of new medical colleges, upgradation of district hospitals, and the establishment of trauma care centers in the country during the last three years, along with the details of funds allocated and the progress made therein? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) ‘Public Health’ & ‘Hospitals’ are State subjects. Accordingly, respective State Governments make efforts for ensuring availability of doctors and healthcare resources in government hospitals across the country. Information related to vacant posts of doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff in State Government Hospitals is not maintained centrally. So far as Central Government hospitals i.e. Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital (VMMC & SJH), Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences & Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (ABVIMS & Dr. RMLH), Lady Hardinge Medical College & Associated Hospitals (LHMC & Associated Hospitals), and Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC) are concerned, details of vacant posts of doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff, as informed by thesehospitals, are as under: Sl. Name of Doctors Nursing Personnel Paramedical Staff No Hospital S F V S F V S F V . 1. VMMC 632 513 119 2759 2342 417 162 122 40 & SJH 2. ABVIM 453 351 102 1559 1459 100 498 344 154 S & Dr. RMLH 3. LHMC 386 298 88 1181 959 222 631 384 247 & Asso. Hospitals 4. RHTC 46 30 16 41 05 36 90 48 42 *S- Sanctioned, F- Filled, V- Vacant (b) & (c) The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare administers a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for 'Establishment of new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals' with preference to underserved areas and aspirational districts, where there is no existing Government or private medical college. The fund sharing mechanism between the Centre and State Governments is in the ratio of 90:10 for North Eastern and Special Category States, and 60:40 for others. Under the Scheme, 157 Government medical colleges have already been approved. Out of which, 137 medical colleges have become functional. Under the National Programme for Prevention & Management of Trauma and Burn Injuries, total 196 Trauma Care Facilities (TCFs) were sanctioned in Government Hospitals/ Medical Colleges across the country. Further, the Government has initiated several measures to strengthen healthcare services in rural, remote, and underserved areas. These initiatives include the Family Adoption Programme, which aims to provide continuous medical support to families in such regions, and the District Residency Programme, designed to ensure the availability of trained medical professionals in district-level healthcare facilities. Also, under National Health Mission (NHM), financial and technical support is provided to the States/UTs to strengthen their healthcare systems based on the Programme Implementation Plans submitted by the States/UTs within their overall resource envelope. In order to address shortage of human resources, under NHM, the types of incentives and honorarium provided for encouraging healthcare service providers are at Annexure. -x-x-x-x-Annexure Types of incentives and honorarium provided for encouraging doctors and other staff to address shortage of human resources under National Health Mission (NHM) (i) Hard area allowance to specialist doctors for serving in rural and remote areas. (ii) Honorarium to Gynecologists/ Emergency Obstetric Care (EmoC) trained, Pediatricians & Anesthetist/ Life Saving Anaesthesia Skills (LSAS) trained doctors is also provided to increase availability of specialists in rural & remote areas. (iii) Incentives for doctors and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife(ANM) for ensuring timely Antenatal Care checkup and recording, for conducting Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health activities. (iv) States are also allowed to offer negotiable salary to attract specialists including flexibility in strategies such as “You Quote We Pay”. (v) Non-Monetary incentives such as preferential admission in post graduate courses for staff serving in difficult areas and improving accommodation arrangement in rural areas have also been introduced under NHM. (vi) Multi-skilling of doctors is supported under NHM to overcome the shortage of specialists. Skill upgradation of existing human resources is another major strategy under NHM for achieving improvement in health outcomes.