Minister Sakina Itoo on Wednesday said that the shortage of doctors in remote areas is a legacy issue, not a recent failure, which can be fixed overnight.
Speaking with reporters, Sakina Itoo said the shortage of doctors is something that has been inherited. “You can’t expect things to be fixed in one year when for six years there were no doctors, no medical staff and no proper infrastructure. These problems take time to resolve,” she said.
She said under the leadership of Omar Abdullah, the current administration has taken steps to address the crisis, particularly by strengthening human resources in the health sector. “We issued 309 appointment orders to degree-holders to serve in remote and underserved areas. Recently, another 111 appointments were made to further bridge the gap in healthcare delivery”.
On specialist recruitment, the minister highlighted that consultant-level appointments through the Services Selection Board (SSB) have also progressed and efforts are underway to deploy them effectively.
She admitted that despite upgrades in infrastructure, new post creations and essential facilities like equipment, medical assistants, and support staff have lagged. “Buildings were constructed quickly, but they lack basic medical equipment and manpower. We need to consolidate these efforts now.”
She appealed to all stakeholders to work together for systemic improvement. “We need support from everyone – the media, the public and all departments, to strengthen healthcare delivery. The administration remains committed to bringing lasting change,” she added—(KNO)
