Fill up vacant posts of doctors in 12 weeks, HC tells govt

IBNlive, June 29, 2011
Cuttack, Jun 29 (PTI) The Orissa High Court has asked the state government to fill up all vacant posts of doctors in the state within 12 weeks and to provide basic infrastructure facilities in primary health centers and dispensaries, mainly those located in tribal and remote areas.Disposing a PIL filed by an advocate of the court, division bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra in its verdict yesterday also asked the state government to file a compliance report after filling all posts of doctors which are lying vacant for the past several years.Expressing concern over the lack of basic amenities in many hospitals, the High Court asked the government to ensure that apart from infrastructure facilities, the health centers should have adequate staff and proper drinking water facility and the patients should be provided with cooked food as per the policy decision of the state government.Following last September's cholera outbreak in Rayagada district, advocate Dilip Mohapatra, through a PIL, had sought the High Court intervention alleging that health services in all tribal districts of the state are in a very poor state.He had brought to the notice of the HC that despite 284 posts of doctors lying vacant in Koraput district and another 80 posts lying vacant in Kalahandi district, the state government had not bothered to post a single doctor in these two districts during the last two years.Responding to HC notice, the state government had informed the court last year that out of 4258 sanctioned posts of allopathic doctors for the entire state, as many as 1085 posts were lying vacant.The government however had informed that efforts were on to fill up the vacant posts of doctors by contractual appointments.The petitioner advocate had also brought to notice of the court about the poor infrastructure facilities in different healthcare centers stating that even ambulance services were not available in at least nine cholera-hit districts, including that of Rayagada, Koraput, Malknagiri, Nawarangpur, Nuapada and Kalahandi district.