Government posts doctors at four PHCs in Nurpur after prolonged vacancies
The Himachal Pradesh Health and Family Welfare Department has posted medical officers at four Primary Health Centres (PHCs) functioning as Health and Wellness Centres in the Nurpur medical block. These centres had been without doctors since January this year. The department issued posting orders for 162 medical officers across the state on Thursday, including one doctor each at the PHCs in Sadwan, Tika Nagrota, Rinna, and Wassa Waziran in the Nurpur block.
The appointments follow months of vacancies that severely affected healthcare services in rural areas. The Tribune had highlighted the plight of local residents on June 18, reporting the absence of medical officers at these PHCs. According to the government notification, the appointments were made based on recommendations from the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission. The 162 medical officers have been appointed as job trainees for an initial period of one year and will serve against vacant posts in health institutions across the state.
Local residents and representatives welcome the move
Newly elected gram panchayat representatives and local residents have welcomed the posting of medical officers. They urged the state government to ensure that the doctors join duty at their allotted health institutions without delay so that healthcare services can be restored. Healthcare services in the Nurpur medical block had been severely affected in four of its nine PHCs since the departure of medical officers earlier this year. The Health Department had not appointed fresh or replacement doctors, leaving these health institutions without medical officers and residents in a difficult situation.
In the absence of doctors, local residents had to travel to the already overburdened Civil Hospital at Nurpur even for minor ailments. Among the affected institutions, the PHC at Sadwan, located on the Nurpur-Chamba highway, is regarded as an important rural health centre catering to a large population of surrounding villages. The fresh postings are expected to restore basic healthcare services and provide much-needed relief to residents.
