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Time of India
07-08-2025
- Health
- Time of India
State to recruit 7k docs, nurses to fill posts at hosps
1 2 Kolkata: After a gap of three years, the Bengal govt will recruit 621 assistant professors, 1,227 doctors (general duty medical officers) and more than 5,080 nursing staff to fill vacant posts at state medical facilities. Even as West Bengal Health Recruitment Board (WBHRB) started processing the recruitments, many in the medical community expressed apprehension over transparency and the pace. WBHRB chairman Sudipto Roy said, "The entire process is expected to be completed by March 2026." Applications for assistant professors' posts span 42 specialities, including cardiac, CTVS, ENT, plastic surgery, chest medicine, urology and infectious diseases. Apart from the three categories, the health department also plans recruitment of medical technologists. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata A state health department official pointed out that the number of seats in MBBS and PG courses had increased in the past few years but the vacant faculty posts at medical colleges increased the teacher : student ratio. Vacancies at medical colleges in districts are higher than that in the city. The National Medical Commission (NMC) had also recently pointed at this faculty gap in medical colleges across India, including in Bengal. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Chile: New Container Houses (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo "The number of faculty members at medical colleges has not increased, as prescribed under NMC norms. The new medical colleges, too, need enough faculty members. Hopefully, this recruitment drive should bring this gap down," said the principal of a medical college. The state has also started revamping the infrastructure at block and primary health centres, in addition to wellness centres or Suswasthya Kendras (SSK), for the rural population. Health officials said these rural health facilities required enhanced manpower, including doctors and nurses. A sizeable number of GDMOs are likely to be posted there. "In 2022, more than 1,100 medical officers were last appointed. Around 1,200 medical officers from the new recruitment drive will be posted at the rural health facilities," said a health official. While the ideal ratio of nurses and patients is 1:5 in general wards and 1:1 in critical care units, the existing ratio is nowhere close to this ideal mark. "The rise in patient load and the number of health facilities has led to an acute shortage of nurses. Also, in many cases, nurses have to carry out other duties, like that of data entry operators. While this recruitment drive will bring down the shortage, the deficit will remain. We are also apprehensive of the current WBHRB," said Bhaswasti Mukherjee of Nurses Unity. Another concern is about the posts reserved for OBC and 344 posts to be filled by male nurses. While the OBC issue is pending in court, sources said male nurses were hard to find in Bengal. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and s ilver prices in your area.
Hans India
26-07-2025
- Health
- Hans India
Discontent brewing among Community Health officers over 'wage disparity' in Bengal
Discontent is brewing among a large section of the community health officers attached to Suswasthya Kendras (rural health and wellness centres) operating under the National Health Mission (NHM), over "unfavourable" employment conditions and wage "disparity" in West Bengal. The first grievance is that almost 32 per cent of the total number of health officers have been retained on a contractual basis. As per statistics, currently there are a total of 11,053 community health officers in West Bengal, and out of them, as many as 3,550 have been retained on a contractual basis. According to an office bearer of the All India Association of Community Health Officer (AIACHO), first of all, appointing community health officers on a contractual basis is generally against the policy of the NHM since in case of contractual employment, the officials concerned are denied of other benefits like provident fund, gratuity and medical insurance benefits, among others. Even if a community health officer is employed on a contractual basis, a minimum payment, both in terms of consolidated pay and additional incentives, has to be ensured, the office bearer said. "As per the NHM guidelines, a community health officer who has been appointed on a contractual basis should receive a consolidated monthly payment of Rs 27,500 in addition to a minimum monthly incentive of Rs 15,000. Individual state governments have the liberty to pay consolidated pay and incentives above the minimum amount under these two heads. But the minimum amounts under both these heads are required to be followed by all state governments," the AIACHO office bearer pointed out. However, he added, in the case of West Bengal, a community health officer who has been appointed on a contractual basis is paid much less under both the heads of consolidated pay and monthly incentives. In West Bengal, the monthly consolidated payment for such contractual community health officers is fixed at Rs 19,870, and the monthly incentive has been fixed at Rs 5,000, thus adding up to a total of just Rs 24,870. "Even in our neighbouring state of Odisha, a community health officer retained on a contractual basis is receiving a monthly pay of Rs 55,000 under the two heads combined. This disparity must end, and we must receive at least on par with the minimum amount fixed under the central policy," the AIACHO office bearer said.
