AIIMS Sits Over Mountain of Vacancies while Patients Crowd
Patients at AIIMs in New Delhi. Image credit The Raisina Hills
Contractual Employment of Doctors Stymies AIIMS Strength
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, December: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi had last recruited a professor in 2005. The beginning of this millennia also brought contractual employments of the doctors in AIIMS.
Parliament had mandated the AIIMS in New Delhi to be a centre of excellence. That has well been earned by the premier institution over the decades. The proof of the achievement lies in patients coming from far off places squatting as far as even the outer periphery of the campus.
Dr M. Srinivas has overseen the AIIMS in New Delhi for decades. He is currently the Director of the AIIMS. The post is envious, for the occupant gains the status of being the best in the medical profession. His predecessor Dr Randeep Guleria is now with Medanta Hospital, Gurugram.
“There are 1200 sanctioned positions of senior doctors and others. We currently have 800 doctors working for the AIIMS in New Delhi,” Dr Srinivas said last week during an interaction with a select media persons, who had come to the national capital from all parts of the country.
The statistics shared by Dr Srinivas translates into a whopping 30 per cent vacancy in India’s most sought-after public-sector hospital. He faced the next question: “Why do you have so much of vacancies when you face the principal complaint of not being able to treat all the patients who wish to come to your campus.”
Dr Srinivas offered explanations. “We have a dynamic recruitment process. This vacancy is as on today, December 25. The number may change tomorrow as the recruitment is an ongoing process,” said Dr Srinivas.
To “why did you pile up 30 per cent vacancies of doctors in the first place”, Dr Srinivas seemed at loss of words while arguing that the “doctors are taken on contracts and the process thus gets stretched”, which adds to vacancies.
“We introduced contractual employment of doctors over a decade ago,” informed Dr Srinivas. Thus, the Director of the AIIMS in New Delhi informed that the doctors at India’s most sought-after medical institution are hired for short-term employments on contracts.
“The last Professor was recruited in 2005 in AIIMS in New Delhi,” informed a senior doctor as the staggering vacancies in the AIIMS became a hot discussion among the doctors and the media persons while they were taken to see the new infrastructure facilities that have come up in the recent months. Senior doctors without exception blamed the contractual employments for the staggering vacancies.
“Why will senior doctors with expertise join the AIIMS for short-term employments,” asked another senior doctor. He added that there are positions of highly specialised skills which are hardly filled.
“This is not just the problem of AIIMS in New Delhi. It has become a general problem with medical colleges. We are not getting professors to teach medical sciences in appropriate number,” added another senior doctor at the AIIMS.
The contractual employment of doctors per discussion with several of the senior medical professionals is the principal culprit for depriving India’s medical colleges their pool of required professors who can train the next generation of doctors. Of course, the senior doctors have more lucrative jobs waiting for them at private hospitals, added doctors.
“Now, we are in a situation where the government should consider discussing the idea of inviting doctors from abroad to teach at medical colleges certain subjects for which we are struggling to find professors,” said another senior doctor.
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