Support-staff shortage in public hospitals

It was shocking to know that the recruitment for the posts of third- and fourth-grade support-staff members in the government-run hospitals has been at a standstill for quite a long time. As the government has failed to draw up a new recruitment policy after the apex court declared the previous policy followed by the military regime of HM Ershad illegal, an increasing number of posts fall vacant every year. According to a report published in this newspaper, an estimated total of 46,000 posts of support staff are vacant in public hospitals across the country.

Desperate to find a way out, the hospital authorities have resorted to a peculiar strategy of deploying unpaid or nominally paid staffers who have to depend largely on tips. The authorities are not to blame for this situation, nor are those who have no option but to toil away in exchange for a space to sleep and eat the leftovers of patients. It is the policy makers whose utter negligence and lack of a sense of responsibility have led to such a situation as crucial public health institutions continue to run on ad-hoc basis.

It's important to note that countless people, especially the less fortunate ones, are dependent on public hospitals. We call on the government to formulate and enact a new recruitment policy immediately to fulfil the vacancies in public hospitals so that they can function efficiently.