The North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) one of the premier medical institutes of the North-east situated in Shillong is facing acute shortage of manpower.
This was revealed through an RTI which exposed that as many as 207 vacancies in different positions in the teaching and non-teaching departments are lying vacant in the medical institute since 2005.
The RTI was filed by an advocate from Umkiang village in East Jaintia Hills, Kynjaimon Amse.
According to the reply to the RTI there are at least 27 vacant posts in the teaching department itself.
These include 10 vacancies of the posts of Associate Professor in Blood Bank, General Medicine, General Surgery, Hospital administration, Medical Oncology, Nephrology, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Surgical Oncology departments and 17 vacancies for the position of Assistant Professor in different departments of the hospital.
The RTI also exposed that at least 21 vacancies in the Group-A non-teaching staff category are lying vacant.
At least 34 vacancies in the Group B category and another 108 vacancies remain unfilled in the Group C category.
The RTI activist alleged that several patients were forced to return home due to unavailability of doctors and come back again subject to availability of doctors.
According to Amse, the hospital has resorted to appointment of adhoc /contractual employees instead of filling up the vacant posts.
Notably, NEIGRIHMS has also outsourced many of its service to private entities. The total number of contractual employee is at least 51 in different departments.
