Government on Friday expressed concern over the growing exodus of doctors from the country and maintained that appropriate measures, including relaxing norms for opening new medical colleges, to meet the shortage are being taken.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad informed the Lok Sabha during Question Hour that 3,600 doctors had left the country to work abroad in the last three years.
“There is an overall shortage of doctors in the country. So private sector will try to attract the doctors from the public sector,” Mr. Azad said.
He said most of these doctors who were working for the private sector or had gone to countries like the U.S. and the U.K. were specialists and super-specialists.
Mr. Azad claimed that the government was taking measures to deal with the situation.
“Enhancing human resources for health particularly in the rural areas is one of the focal areas of the government. It has been taking measures like relaxing norms for opening new medical colleges and providing central assistance for upgrading and strengthening of existing state medical colleges,” the minister said.
Other steps being taken are multi-skilling of doctors to overcome shortage of specialists and providing incentives to serve in rural areas and augmenting human resources in health to improve the overall health delivery system.
