Parliament Question: Shortage of Medical Staff in Health Centres in Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OFINDIA MINISTRYOFHEALTHAND FAMILYWELFARE DEPARTMENT OFHEALTH AND FAMILYWELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARREDQUESTION NO. 2287 TOBE ANSWERED ON31st JULY, 2026 SHORTAGE OFMEDICALSTAFFIN HEALTH CENTRES IN MAHARASHTRA 2287. DR. AMOLRAMSING KOLHE: Will the Ministerof HEALTH AND FAMILYWELFAREbe pleasedtostate: (a) whether the existing network of Sub-Health Centres (SHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) in Maharashtra meets the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) and prescribed population norms, if so, the details thereof, district- wise; (b) the number of sanctioned, functional and vacant SHCs, PHCs, CHCs, Sub-District Hospitals andDistrict Hospitals inthe State, includingPuneDistrict, alongwith the shortages of doctors, specialists, nurses andparamedical staffinthe said institutions; (c) whether the Government has undertaken any assessment of the healthcare infrastructure requirements of Pune District, in viewof itsrapidly growing urban andperi-urban population andif so, the detailsthereof; (d) the corrective measures taken by the Union Government to bridge infrastructure and manpower gaps, particularly in the tribal, hilly, drought-prone and aspirational districts of Maharashtra; and (e) the timeline fixed by the Union Government for achieving full compliance with IPHS normsacross the State? ANSWER THE MINISTER OFSTATE IN THE MINISTRYOFHEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRIPRATAPRAO JADHAV) (a) to (e): Public Health’ & ‘Hospitals’ are State subjects. The primary responsibility of the availability of healthcare facilities and human resources in various public health facilities in the countrylieswith the respective StateGovernments. The National Health Mission (NHM) provides support for improvement in health infrastructure, availability of adequate human resources in health facilities, to improve availability and accessibility to quality healthcare across the country including Maharashtra. Under NHM, this Ministry provides technical and financial support to the States/UTs, including tribal, hilly, drought-prone and aspirational districts of Maharashtra, to strengthen the public healthcare system in rural areas, based on the proposals received in the form ofProgramme Implementation Plans (PIPs). Government of India provides approval for the proposals received in the form of Record of Proceedings (RoPs) as per norms & available resources. The IndianPublicHealthStandards(IPHS)have beendevelopedbyMoHFWfor primaryand secondary healthcarefacilities which providesa set of uniform standards, includingnorms for services, infrastructure, humanresources, diagnostics, equipment,medicinesetc,envisagedto improve the quality of health care delivery in the country. They are used as the reference point for public healthcare infrastructure planningandup-gradationinthe States andUTs. Health Dynamics of India (HDI) is an annual publication, based on healthcare administrative data reported by States/UTs. Details of availability and shortfall of health infrastructure including Sub-Health Centres (SHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) and doctors, specialists, nurses, paramedical staff across the country including Pune district in Maharashtra, State/UT-wise, may be accessed through the HMIS portal underPublications at the following linkof HDI 2023-24: https://hmis.mohfw.gov.in To facilitate the assessment of public health facilities, MoHFW has developed an Open Data Kit (ODK), an Android-based application. This application allows States and UTs to conduct a baseline assessment of their healthcare facilities, identify gaps, and implement timely corrective measures by achieving compliance to provide all essential services and work towards desirable standards. Under NHM, the performance of various health programmes including gaps in health infrastructure in all the States/UTs including Pune district of Maharashtra in view of its rapidlygrowing urbanandperi-urbanpopulation, through reviewmeetings, mid-term reviews of key deliverables, field visits of senior officials, promoting performance by setting up benchmarks for service delivery & rewarding achievements etc. Common Review Missions (CRM) are conducted annually to assess and monitor the progress and implementation status underthe scheme. Under NHM, norms have been relaxed for tribal/hilly/hard-to-reach areas to strengthen healthcare access. Population criteria for setting up of SHCs, PHCs and CHCs have been reduced to 3,000, 20,000 and 80,000 respectively. One Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) isallowedperhabitationinstead of per1,000population. A total of 1.86 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAMs) including 13,457 AAMs in Maharashtra have been operationalized by strengthening SHCs and PHCs. These AAMs provide preventive, promotive, rehabilitative and curative care for an expanded range of services. The AAMs incrementally provide 12 package of primary healthcare services across the country including Maharashtra, encompassing Reproductive and child care services, Communicablediseases,NonCommunicablediseases(NCD),PalliativeCareandelderlyCare, Careforcommonmentaldisorders,neurologicalconditions(epilepsy,dementia)andsubstance use disorders management (tobacco, alcohol, drugs), Oral health, ENT care, and Basicemergencycare. The Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) aims to support for infrastructure development for SHCs, Urban AAMs, Support for Block Public HealthUnits(BPHUs),IntegratedDistrictPublicHealthLaboratories(IPHL)andCriticalCare Hospital Blocks (CCB) in the country including Maharashtra. The Fifteenth Finance Commission (FC-XV) has recommended grants through Local Governments for specific componentsofthehealthsectors. The Government of India provides incentives and honorarium to medical professionals to improve service delivery in rural and remote areas, including Maharashtra. Under NHM, measures such as Hard Area Allowance for specialist doctors, flexibility to States to offer negotiable salaries including “You Quote We Pay”, non-monetary incentives like preferential admission in postgraduate courses and multi-skilling of doctors through training in Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) and Life Saving Anaesthesia Skills(LSAS) are supported toaddress the shortage of specialists insuch areas. *****