Bodies pile up, Nitish orders walk-in interviews for docs

PATNA Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday directed top officials to start filling vacant medical and paramedical posts in every district through walk-in interviews even as the state reported 12,359 fresh cases of coronavirus and 77 deaths during the last 24 hours

PATNA

HT Image

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday directed top officials to start filling vacant medical and paramedical posts in every district through walk-in interviews even as the state reported 12,359 fresh cases of coronavirus and 77 deaths during the last 24 hours.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the CM.

Bihar Health Services Association (BHSA) general secretary Dr Ranjeet Kumar said 30-40% of the posts in the state, both of doctors and paramedical staff, were lying vacant. “The state has a sanctioned strength of 13,500 doctors (approximately) and is facing acute shortage of paramedical staff like OT assistants, laboratory assistants, nurses, X-ray technicians, ultrasound technicians, ventilator assistants and data operators in 700-odd hospitals of the state,” said Dr Kumar.

Sources said there are 4,133 ANM (auxillary nurse midwife) vacancies against sanctioned posts of 9,130 in Bihar and there is also a shortage of 2,000-odd medical members against 4,000 sanctioned posts.

With Covid cases increasing at an alarming pace, the state is in dire need of doctors as more than 500 doctors and health workers of the two leading hospitals in Patna, AIIMS and Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), have been infected with the coronavirus during the ongoing second wave, according to agency reports.

In fact, the IMA had written a letter to chief minister on Friday asking him to appoint doctors as an emergency measure. “There is a provision of quick appointment of doctors and others in times of an epidemic. All such people who are ready to join can be recruited on contract under epidemic provisions,” said Dr Kumar.

He said that doctors and health care workers have been working continuously for the last 14 months without any leave. “They are exhausted and need some rest on intervals. More than 15% of them are infected. Many have died. It is the demand of time in public interest,” said Kumar.

Meanwhile, the total number of active cases in the state climbed to 81960. “Seven districts, including Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Aurangabad, Saran, Nalanda and Begusarai, reported more than 500 positive cases on Friday,” said Manoj Kumar, executive director, State Health Society.