Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will appoint approximately 5,000 doctors in the near future, Health Minister Niranjan Pujari said Monday. Niranjan Pujari gave this information during the Budget session of the Odisha Assembly while replying to a question by Rairangpur MLA Naba Charan Majhi. The latter had expressedconcern as the Rairangpur sub-divisional hospital currently has mere six doctors against 37 posts. Majhi said that the shortage of doctors is affecting patients acutely. “Doctors will be appointed in the hospital on priority basis,” Pujari stated.
The health minister also said that the Odisha government has taken the decision to increase the number of beds in government healthcare facilities of the state by 21,342 in the next financial year in view of the rise in number of patients. Pujari asserted that the aim of the government is to provide quality healthcare facilities to the people of Odisha.
Pujari told the lawmakers that the target is to achieve 100 hospital beds for every 1,000 person in Odisha. The figure currently stands at 71. Puajri added that the government under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is leaving no stone unturned to improve and modernise healthcare facilities in Odisha.