Grim diagnosis: Govt health centres face shortage of doctors, shows data

Almost two-thirds of the country's population resides in rural areas and yet only 33 per cent of the total health workers and 27 per cent doctors are available, revealed the 2021 statistics

The Rural Health Statistics 2020-21, released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, showed that across rural and urban areas, there is a 7 per cent shortfall of doctors at primary health centres (PHCs) and a 57 per cent dearth of doctors at community health centres (CHCs).

For a PHC, which is the first contact point between the village community and a medical officer, the norm is one doctor or medical officer per centre. And, a CHC, which acts as a referral point for four PHCs, is to be manned by at least four specialist doctors — a surgeon, a