Jammu Tawi, Mar 18: Around 550 medical officer posts remain vacant in the Jammu and Kashmir Health Department, with 56 of them in Baramulla district.
Responding to a query from MLA Sajad Shafi, Health and Medical Education Minister Sakina Itoo stated in a written reply that the department is making efforts to fill these vacancies.
“The selection process for 181 medical officer posts is currently underway with the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC). Once finalised, the appointed doctors will be deployed to health institutions facing acute staff shortages,” she said.
In addition to this, the department is also in the process of operating the waitlist for 91 selected Medical Officers, Itoo said, adding that these selectees will be deployed to under-served areas across Jammu and Kashmir to further strengthen healthcare delivery where it is most needed.
The minister said Baramulla district has 275 sanctioned medical officer posts, of which 56 remain vacant. “To address this gap, 39 out of the 365 recently appointed medical officers have been posted in Baramulla,” she said.
Itoo said that out of the 365 recently appointed Medical Officers, 39 have been posted to district Baramulla. This deployment, she said, aims to address the ongoing vacancies and enhance the healthcare infrastructure in the region.
“Furthermore, to strengthen healthcare services in Baramulla, 11 staff members from NHM and 71 from Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), including doctors and paramedics, have been deployed to the district. This additional manpower bolsters the healthcare delivery capacity and ensures more comprehensive coverage, particularly in underserved areas of the district,” she added.
The Health Minister also informed the Legislative Assembly that National Health Mission employees are hired for one year and their contracts are renewed on the basis of their performance.
Replying to a question of MLA Daleep Singh Parihar, the Health Minister said, “The National Health Mission (NHM) is a centrally sponsored flagship scheme, and as such, the overall policy regarding service matters for NHM employees falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India (GoI).”
“Further, NHM employees are hired on a contractual basis for one year, with their contracts renewed annually based on their performance, as indicated in their yearly performance appraisal report. Therefore, any policy formulation regarding regularization of services/enhancement of salaries/bridging the salary gap or other benefits would need to align with the guidelines set by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India and is always subject to accord of approval by MoHFW, GoI,” she said.
