250 vacancies and counting: Gynaecology departments in Tamil Nadu govt hospitals struggle with shortage
There are more than 50 vacancies in pathology, 10 in microbiology and 2 in physiology open for Intra Directorate Transfer Counselling
Chromepet Government Hospital
CHENNAI: The department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology had more than 250 vacancies for various posts in government hospitals in the State, highest among other departments. There were about 150 vacancies in the paediatrics department, for which counselling was conducted recently.
There are more than 50 vacancies in pathology, 10 in microbiology and 2 in physiology open for Intra Directorate Transfer Counselling. However, vacancies in the OBGYN department remain the highest in most government medical college hospitals.
For instance, Tiruvallur Medical College and Hospital had only 3 OBGYN doctors in the department last month, against the total of 20 posts. While 3 staff members were on maternity leave, other posts remained vacant.
There are other vacancies too in government medical college hospitals such as assistant professors, senior resident, junior resident, medical officer, assistant surgeons, etc. Even after transfer counselling, vacancies would not change significantly due to a crunch in human resources.
“Only 40% of the posts in OBGYN department are filled in most medical college hospitals. No new appointments are made,” said a doctor at a government medical college hospital in TN.
With more than 5 lakh deliveries every year in Tamil Nadu, workload on healthcare workers is increasing. And, given the complexity of medical procedures and clinical services in the department, a lot of medicos even choose to give up the job to join other practices.
“The work is not only stressful, but the pay is not good either. For personal well-being or better pay, many people quit the job. To manage the heavy case-load, doctors are moved from one hospital to another so that clinical services are not affected,” said another obstetrician from a medical college hospital.
Meanwhile, officials from the Directorate of Medical Education stated that the vacancies were being filled through direct and transfer counselling for all medical college hospitals. “The latest round of counselling was held last week and all the identified vacancies are being filled,” a senior official said.
