Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Jan 1: Several hospitals in Jammu division are functioning without gynaecologists due to which patients had to travel long distances for treatment.
As per the details available, about five Community Health Centres and Sub district hospitals are without gynaecologists in Jammu.
The information was obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) filed by MM Shuja. The hospitals functioning without gynaecologists include CHC Gandoh, Trauma Hospital Mahanpur, SDH Paddar, CHC Mandi and CHC Gool.
Health officials said that the shortage of gynaecologists is posing significant challenges and the scarcity is raising concerns about women’s access to essential reproductive health services and timely medical interventions.
They said that shortage of gynaecologists is leading to increased patient wait times and potential delays in diagnosis and treatments.
“The impact of the gynaecologist shortage is particularly pronounced in underserved communities, where access to healthcare services is already limited. Women in these areas face additional barriers in obtaining timely and comprehensive reproductive healthcare, exacerbating existing health disparities”, they said.
An official said that people of these areas belong to financially weaker sections and in absence of gynaecologists in these hospitals, women, especially expecting mothers, have to travel long distances for treatment.
Notably as per the official figures, 645 medical officer positions and 157 consultant positions are lying vacant in various hospitals, Primary Health Centers (PHCs), and Sub-District Hospitals (SDHs) across Jammu Division.
The health department is also grappling with a scarcity of paramedical staff 1068 vacancies for Para Medical Staff out of which 904 are promotional posts. The remaining 164 posts have been referred to the Administrative Department in 2020 and 2021, and their status remains uncertain.
As per details, About 4,000 gazetted and non-gazetted posts are lying vacant in the Health department in Jammu division, affecting healthcare facilities.
