Chandigarh: In a major step to address the growing shortage of specialist doctors in government hospitals, the Punjab government has decided to empanel 300 specialist doctors from the private sector. The move aims to strengthen healthcare delivery across district and sub divisional hospitals where vacancies have severely affected patient care.
The decision comes at a time when nearly 47 percent of sanctioned specialist posts remain vacant in Punjab’s public health system. Officials acknowledged that the shortage has placed immense pressure on existing doctors and has forced many patients to seek treatment outside their districts.
According to official figures, Punjab has 2,098 sanctioned specialist posts, but only around 1,000 are currently filled. This leaves more than 1,098 positions vacant, a gap that has widened due to the absence of regular recruitment since 2022.
Rural and semi urban hospitals have been hit the hardest, with patients often travelling long distances for basic specialist consultations.
On December 27, 2025, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab issued a formal notification inviting applications from eligible specialist doctors willing to serve in government hospitals.
The empanelment will cover specialists in key disciplines such as general medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, dermatology, chest and TB, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, ENT, anesthesiology, and radiology.
Officials said the focus is on ensuring that essential specialist services are available closer to patients’ homes, especially in districts where vacancies have persisted for years.
The Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab formally announced the empanelment process through an official order, inviting eligible specialists to offer their services at government healthcare facilities across the state.
“Online applications are invited from interested specialist doctors for empanelment at District Hospitals and Sub-Divisional Hospitals under the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab,” reads an order issued by the Punjab health department.
Under the empanelment policy, specialists will receive payment based on the services they provide rather than a fixed monthly salary. The government has fixed ₹100 per patient for OPD and IPD consultations. Major surgeries and caesarean sections will be paid at ₹3,500, while minor surgeries will earn ₹1,000. Minor procedures will be paid at ₹500, ultrasound services at ₹400, emergency calls at ₹1,500, and anaesthesia for major surgeries at ₹2,000.
The policy also sets minimum patient load expectations, with OPD requirements ranging from 50 to 150 patients per day and IPD duties from 2 to 20 patients.
Empaneled doctors must serve at least three hours daily for six days a week. They may continue their private practice, but the government has clearly warned against unnecessary referrals of public hospital patients to private facilities. Any such violation may lead to immediate cancellation of empanelment.
PCMSA representatives indicated that permanent appointments remain a priority, as temporary measures alone cannot resolve the long standing shortage of specialist doctors in the state’s public health system.
“The government’s prime focus should be on regular walk-in interviews for specialist doctors as it will serve as a sustainable solution to the acute specialist shortage in the State. We expect the government to wrap up the regular specialist hiring process within the next couple of months,” Dr Akhil Sarin, state president, PCMSA, told Hindustan Times.
(Rh/ARC)
