Congress MP in Rajya Sabha, Phulo Devi Netam, raised the issue of shortage of doctors and staff at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raipur during Zero Hour, highlighting gaps in treatment availability and patient care at the premier institute. Speaking in the House, Netam stated that denial of timely treatment to patients effectively amounts to denial of medical care, and cited the situation at AIIMS Raipur where patients suffering from serious ailments are reportedly not receiving treatment on time. She informed that against 305 sanctioned posts of doctors at AIIMS Raipur, only 190 are currently filled, leaving 115 positions vacant. According to her, critical departments such as cardiology, neurology and surgery are among the worst affected due to shortage of specialists.

 

The MP further pointed out that in the nursing, technical and administrative categories, 3,884 posts have been sanctioned, while only 2,387 personnel are in position, leaving 1,497 vacancies across various support services. Referring to patient load and hospital operations, Netam stated that shortage of medical and support staff has resulted in long queues in OPDs, delays in surgeries and diagnostic procedures, and difficulty in securing hospital beds for admission. She said that patients are often turned away citing non-availability of beds even in serious conditions. Raising the demand in the House, she called for urgent filling up of vacant posts of doctors and staff at AIIMS Raipur and augmentation of bed capacity to ensure timely and adequate treatment to patients.