Srinagar, Sep 28: The Jammu and Kashmir government has admitted to critical manpower shortages in the healthcare system of north Kashmir’s Bandipora constituency, revealing that the District Hospital is functioning without a Medical Superintendent, Senior Consultant Physician, or Senior Consultant Surgeon.
In a written reply to a starred question by MLA Nizam-ud-din Bhat in the Assembly, the Health and Medical Education Department disclosed that 31 health institutions are currently operational in the constituency, but acknowledged significant deficiencies in both manpower and infrastructure.
According to government data, the District Hospital Bandipora is operating with only 73 personnel against a sanctioned strength of 106 on the regular side—leaving 33 posts vacant.
The specialist shortage is acute : No Medical Superintendent in position, No Senior Consultant Physician or Senior Consultant Surgeon, Two Consultant Surgeon posts vacant, One Consultant ENT and one Consultant Anaesthesia post lying vacant, One Consultant Physician post vacant
On the NHM side, the hospital has 11 vacancies out of 66 permissible posts, including Pediatrician, Gynecologist, Dental Surgeon, and Occupational Therapist.
PHC-Level Shortages
At PHC Chuntimulla, only 2 of 3 sanctioned Medical Officer posts are filled, while the Senior Pharmacist post remains vacant. Similarly, PHC Ashtingoo has vacancies for Health Inspector, Head Pharmacist, and Sup Pharmacist.
The government informed the House that against posts referred to the JKPSC, 416 candidates were recommended, of which 335 Medical Officers have been appointed so far. These officers will be posted prioritizing “peripheral, underserved, remote and difficult areas.”
Additionally, 466 Non-Gazetted posts under the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, have been referred to the recruiting agency.
The government stated that Bandipora constituency has 31 functional health institutions, 01 District Hospital, 02 Primary Health Centres (PHCs)
04 New Type Primary Health Centres (NTPHCs)
23 Health and Wellness Centres, 01 ANMT School
Denying claims of abandoned buildings, the government said three infrastructure projects are under execution, NTPHC Quil Muqam (fully functional), NTPHC Wular Lake (likely to be completed by end of current financial year), District Hospital Bandipora (fully functional)
“The government remains committed to ensuring accessible, affordable and quality healthcare services and continues to take appropriate measures for strengthening manpower, infrastructure and service delivery across the Union Territory,” the reply stated.
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