HEALING WITHOUT HEALERS: J&K’s health system can’t heal itself amid specialist shortage

Srinagar, Dec 4: Winter descends fast in Jammu and Kashmir, but doctors don’t.

As soon as snow seals roads and stretches emergencies, entire districts brace for another season without the specialists who could save lives.

Across J&K’s hospitals, over 5000 vacancies and a shortage of specialists have left far-flung districts dangerously exposed.

Key posts remain empty, recruitment drags on, and tertiary hospitals buckle under referrals, revealing a system unable to heal itself.

With snowfall and inclement weather in winters set to make healthcare access more arduous for far-flung areas, the shortage of specialists will risk more lives this year as well, like it has for decades.

J&K’s healthcare delivery has further downgraded under a chronic shortage of specialist doctors, while the government finds itself unable to expedite a solution to this Achilles heel.

Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakina Itoo, said that hundreds of posts of doctors and paramedics have been referred to recruiting agencies.

“There is a delay in completing the process of recruitment. I am aware of that, and we are trying our best,” she said.

Itoo said that the doctor shortage “did not happen overnight”, and is a crisis that has been brewing for decades.

“Why has no recruitment been made all these years? Was it not known then that our people are dying for want of specialists?” she said, lamenting the apathy of previous governments towards addressing the shortage.

With more than 5000 healthcare positions lying vacant across J&K, the quality of services and treatment provided is easily imaginable.

These vacant posts mean people needed for critical roles in anesthesia, radiology, pediatrics, gynecology, and others are often forced to travel hundreds of kilometers for basic specialised care.

According to the Health Dynamics of India Report (2022-23), in the 52 CHCs (SDH) of J&K, there are 220 sanctioned posts of specialists.

The specialists include gynecologists, surgeons, anesthesia specialists, and pediatricians.

These specialists are mandated to be available at these crucial healthcare facilities to reduce the time to access healthcare, as well as reduce referrals.

However, 104 of these posts are vacant.

The critical shortages at these crucial positions disable the healthcare system and deprive it of basic efficiency.

A recent data set provided by J&K Health and Medical Education Department in the Legislative Assembly’s Autumn Session showed the disparity in postings and gross neglect of far-flung areas. Srinagar, Budgam, and Ganderbal districts fare better in terms of posts filled, while other districts are severely crippled, forcing referrals for cases that could and must have been handled in the nearest hospitals.

In north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, only 206 of 349 posts are filled, while only 593 positions of the 953 paramedic positions are filled.

The severe shortage in this far-flung district, which has one of the most difficult-to-access areas, affects every health center. The acute specialist shortage, especially that of gynaecologists, pediatricians, and anesthesia specialists in this district, puts the lives of over 9 lakh people living there in jeopardy.

While J&K takes pride in a 1:1800 doctor-patient ratio, in this district, the ratio shows the deep injustices committed on the people. Similarly, in the Doda district of the Chenab Valley, only 45 of the 109 medical posts are filled.

In Kathua, only 77 of the 173 doctor posts are filled, and similarly, in Kishtwar, only 43 of 81 doctor posts are filled.

Other far-flung districts of the Kashmir and Jammu divisions fare equally badly.

However, in district Budgam, which is adjacent to Srinagar, the paramedic position vacancy is a “joke” committed on the people of the district.

Of the 1290 paramedic positions, only 386 are filled; the remaining 904 paramedics, who are required to make service delivery possible in hospitals, have not been posted or recruited. The centrally, easily accessible districts have a better position of doctors.

However, the tertiary-care hospitals that take the load of patients from across the districts have their specialty services as well as medical education compromised due to the shortage of specialists.