HC seeks district-wise details of hospitals, medical staff in UP

Lucknow, Oct 13 (PTI) As the Uttar Pradesh government accepted a shortage of approximately five thousand doctors in state-run hospitals and medical colleges, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday asked it to provide district-wise details of hospitals, the sanctioned strength of medical staff and the number of filled posts.

The order was passed by a bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Rajiv Bharti on a public interest litigation filed in 2017 by the Viraj Khand Resident Welfare Society.

The petition sought guidelines for proper medical care for patients in the state.

Responding to the petition, the state government counsel stated that while 19,659 posts of doctors are sanctioned in the Provincial Medical Health Services cadre, only 11,018 doctors are currently employed on a regular basis, with 283 on redeployment basis, and 404 through walk-in interviews.

It was also reported that 2,508 doctors are employed through the National Health Mission , making the total number of doctors in the state 14,213.

The court stated that these figures clearly indicate a shortage of at least five thousand government doctors in the state.

In a large state like Uttar Pradesh, the availability of qualified doctors is crucial for the healthy lives of its residents, said the bench .

The court ordered the state government to file a better affidavit and provide district-wise details of the state government hospitals and medical colleges, the number of sanctioned positions for doctors and paramedical staff, and how many are actually employed.

The next hearing in the case will take place after two months. PTI CORR ABN RT RT