By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: In order to tide over the perennial shortage of doctors in rural CHCs and PHCs of the State, the State Government is now planning to sanction more doctors in the rural areas.
Talking to The Shillong Times here on Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister and in charge Health and Family Welfare, Rowell Lyngdoh, said, “We do have shortage of doctors but we are expecting that more doctors would be deputed shortly.”
Earlier, the State Government had announced an extra incentive of Rs 5,000 each for those doctors serving in rural areas to deal with the shortage of doctors.
The minister stated that the Government is trying to fill up all the vacant posts at the CHCs and PHCs at the earliest and more posts would be sanctioned to improve the health sector in rural areas of the state.
“We are expecting more doctors and nurses to serve in rural areas in the coming years,” he added.
The Health Minister admitted that the biggest reason behind shortage of doctors in rural areas is that the doctors themselves do not want to serve in rural areas of the State.
He however stated that the Government has already taken strong cognizance of the matter and made it a policy that the first posting of the doctors is made in rural areas of the State.
“We are posting them first in rural areas to serve the people,” he added.
When asked about the steps taken by the Government to improve the condition of the rural CHCs and PHCs, Lyngdoh stated that the Government is utilizing funds from the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) as well as the State plan to improve the facilities at the CHCs and PHCs which cater to a large section of the rural population of the State.
