227 specialists posted to strengthen secondary hosps across AP

Vijayawada: To address the shortage of specialist doctors in secondary-level hospitals that form a critical part of the government healthcare network, the State health department has deployed 227 postgraduate doctors across 142 secondary hospitals in the State.

According to officials, the postings were finalized through counselling across 12 specialties, including gynecology, general medicine, general surgery, anesthesia, pediatrics, orthopedics, radiology, ophthalmology, dermatology, ENT, and pathology.

Secondary health director Kevin Chakradhar Babu and public health director Dr. Padmavati briefed health minister Y Satyakumar Yadav on the hospital-wise and subject-wise distribution of newly posted specialists.

Of the total appointments, 155 doctors have been assigned to 100 Community Health Centers (CHCs), 60 to 33 area hospitals, 10 to seven district hospitals, and two to two MCH hospitals. The Gudur Area Hospital has received the highest allocation, with four specialists, including a pediatrician, radiologist, dermatologist, and pathologist.

Minister expressed satisfaction over the recruitment drive, saying the appointments mark a major step toward improving specialist availability and service quality in government hospitals.

Out of 257 in-service PHC doctors who completed their postgraduate studies in 2022–23, 227 have been posted to secondary hospitals, while the remaining 30 doctors have been designated as tutors in Directorate of Medical Education (DME) institutions due to the absence of suitable vacancies.