New policies and new medical colleges may finally help Odisha overcome the shortage of doctors.
The Odisha government plans to introduce new policy in order to tackle the scarcity of doctors in Odisha.
The World Health Organization norms requires the ratio of one doctor per 1,000 population. With Odisha falls short with a whopping 1:2,749 doctor-to-population ratio. Odisha as a state sees over 900 medical students graduate every year. However, a significant number of medical graduates and working doctors decide to move out of the state in order to get better job opportunities.
This phenomenon of brain-drain has affected rural areas the most with majority of professionals concentrating in urban areas. Odisha’s doctor-to-population ratio is too poor to even provide the basic minimum healthcare requirement to people, especially in the rural areas.
In order to stop the brain-drain of doctors and tackle the issue of scarcity of doctors in the state, Odisha Government is set to form new policy and developments. By Setting up new medical colleges in Talcher, Puri and Sundergarh in the near future.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das said “The government will soon formulate a state health policy and set up new medical colleges to retain the doctors and to fill up vacant doctor posts in all government hospitals across the State.”
The health minister also adds that incentives will be provided to the doctors to retain them in the state.
With the emergence of new medical colleges in the state of Odisha Naba Kishore Das assured that there would be no shortage of doctors after two years as the state would produce about 1,500 doctors every year from various medical colleges.
The government plans to create over 3,000 doctors’ posts in the future with an aim to provide quality health care facilities to all.
