7000 doctors needed in the rural sector

Rural areas require almost 7,000 doctors, according to statistics last year. "According to the Rural Health Statistics, 2011, there were 7,246 vacant positions for doctors in primary health centers (PHCs) across the country," Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Sudip Bandopadhyay told the Lok Sabha.

PHCs and community health centres (CHC) are the pulse of National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), the seven-year-old flagship programme launched to provide accessible healthcare in rural and remote areas. According to ministry of health, India has over 23,000 PHCs and nearly 4,800 CHCs. "There are 3,880 positions vacant for specialists in CHCs," Bandopadhay added in his reply. In diagnostics, there were 3,525 vacancies for lab technicians.

Source: IANS