Shimla | January 18:
The recruitment of 256 new doctors is certainly good news for Himachal Pradesh and offers some relief to an overstretched health system.
At a time when hospitals are struggling with staff shortages, fresh appointments can improve patient care – but only if these doctors are posted wisely and supported with proper infrastructure.
He was speaking at the state level Health Dialogue here today.
While Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu highlighted this recruitment drive as part of a major health overhaul, the real challenge lies beyond numbers.
Doctors alone cannot fix the system if they are sent to poorly equipped hospitals without basic diagnostic facilities, staff support and decent living conditions in subdivisions and rural areas.
Today, most patients from far-flung regions still rush to IGMC Shimla and Dr RPGMC Tanda, not because they want to, but because CHCs and subdivision hospitals lack specialists, functioning labs and emergency services. Strengthening peripheral healthcare is the only way to reduce this pressure.
The CM also spoke about robotic surgeries at Chamiyana and Tanda, claiming success. While advanced technology has its place, health experts say the priority should be functional X-ray, ultrasound, blood testing and trauma care at district and CHC levels, where common people first reach.
Announcing big spending plans – Rs 1,300 crore under JICA-II and Rs 3,000 crore over three years – the government promises transformation. But without strict audits of equipment purchases, hospital funds and Rogi Kalyan Samitis, money risks going down the drain.
At IGMC Shimla, the situation remains worrying – overcrowded wards, long waiting hours and serious security concerns for doctors. Incidents of violence have exposed the need for strong security protocols inside hospitals.
The CM assured reforms in Rogi Kalyan Samitis and audit of the HIMCARE scheme. Doctors, however, demand a complete cleanup of these bodies, which they say have become centres of fund misuse.
