Staff crunch hits new TN hospital blocks and health schemes
Doctors say patient load has increased and urged the government to take measures so that patient care quality is not affected
Several new hospital buildings and speciality blocks in Tamil Nadu built under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project and the ones constructed by the state health department in Chennai, Coimbatore, Salem, and Tirunelveli, along with recently inaugurated super speciality hospitals in Vellore and Thoothukudi, are operating by deploying staff temporarily from other hospitals, as no new posts have been created.
While a Government Order by the state health department has proposed to create important posts for cancer care in tertiary care institutions in the state, it will only add to the staff crunch, as the already existing employees will be redeployed.
What doctors' associations said
Even the government doctors' associations have raised the issue of the shortage of staff at several such new healthcare facilities multiple times, but no action has been taken so far.
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A recent Government Order issued by the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department proposes the creation of key posts dedicated to cancer care in tertiary institutions statewide. While intended to strengthen oncology services, the move is expected to exacerbate the existing staff crunch. Doctors say that the healthcare workers will be temporarily pulled from other facilities, as no new permanent positions have been sanctioned to support these advanced centres.
"There is a shortage of doctors in the new hospitals. For example, obstetricians in the government medical college hospitals, and hospitals like Thiruvallur Medical College Hospital that has about 20 posts in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, there are only about 50 per cent posts that are available on duty. In such a scenario, new buildings and infrastructure with the existing number of medical staff is not adequate," said a medical officer from one of the hospitals, on condition of anonymity.
The facilities, designed to enhance tertiary care and specialised treatments across Tamil Nadu, were hailed as major boosts to the state's healthcare infrastructure upon their completion and inauguration. However, sources within the health department reveal that operations are being sustained through redeployments, leading to strained resources at the originating hospitals.
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"There are no surplus doctors in the facilities in the government medical college hospitals. There is a need to create a range of new posts for medical college staff every time a new building is inaugurated. It is not just doctors who are affected, but when the patient load gets two-fold or even more, the services are affected because doctors cannot cater to their needs efficiently, give them adequate time for care. Pulling staff from one facility to another disrupts services everywhere, and without new posts being created, patient care quality could suffer in the long run," Dr. GR Ravindranath, General Secretary of Doctor's Association for Social Equality, told The Federal.
Increase in patient load
The JICA-funded projects, part of broader efforts to upgrade medical infrastructure, include modern blocks for various specialities such as cardiology, neurology, and oncology. The super-speciality hospitals in Vellore and Thoothukudi, were expected to reduce the burden on overcrowded urban centres like Chennai. However, without dedicated staff, the patient care facilities are expected to be strained.
Pointing out that the patient load has increased in the last few years, but the proportionate surge has not been made for human resources, doctors say that the government needs to take measures so that patient care quality is not affected.
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"The Minister claims that since 2021, after the DMK took office, the number of patients visiting government hospitals has more than doubled. Has the number of doctors and nurses also been doubled accordingly?" questioned Dr. Perumal Pillai, President, Legal Coordination Committee for Government Doctors.
He said that there is a shortage of obstetricians in most government hospitals. “For example, 12 obstetrician posts remain vacant at Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital and 18 at Vellore Government Medical College Hospital.”
Doctors also say that the new schemes like Nalam Kakkum Stalin, or additional medical camps also need additional staff members, but no new posts are sanctioned for these schemes.
Health Minister defends move
Defending the redeployment move, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian, on Thursday (November 13), said that the government’s redeployment policy is a strategic tool to ensure equitable healthcare without compromising services.
He emphasised that redeployment occurs only in surplus areas with zero vacancies, such as when a facility has 10 doctors but needs only eight, allowing the excess two to be shifted to underserved regions. He said that the appointments were made after a transparent counselling process, and the current government has filled over 80,000 healthcare posts in four-and-a-half years.
Talking about the additional infrastructure, he said that the medical staff at 708 urban primary health centres, 50 new PHCs, and 35,469 NHM posts have been staffed systematically, with no redeployment from vacant positions. He said that redeployment is not an arbitrary reduction but a responsible optimisation, and it will ensure that there is no disruption in patient care.
