The Punjab government has begun hiring retired specialists on contractual terms to address a large and growing shortage of doctors in public hospitals across the state.
There are 2,098 sanctioned specialist posts in Punjab’s government healthcare system, but nearly 1,000 remain vacant, particularly in high-demand specialities such as gynaecology, anaesthesia, orthopaedics, and radiology. Previous recruitment drives struggled to attract or retain younger specialists, due to factors like comparatively lower pay, additional non-clinical duties, and transfers to less-preferred areas.
To quickly address staffing gaps, Punjab health department has announced 88–100 consultant positions across various specialities. These are reserved for retired doctors aged 58–64, to be engaged on one-year contracts (renewable annually based on performance).
These consultants are expected to focus solely on clinical duties in district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, and community health centres. Administrative responsibilities or private-practice engagement are prohibited under the contract terms.
The shortage is not limited to specialists, many general medical officer posts also remain unfilled, especially in rural and border areas.
Even when posts are filled, heavy workload and inadequate support infrastructure continue to strain the healthcare delivery system.
Many specialists reportedly leave soon after joining, citing poor working conditions, frequent non-clinical duties, and limited incentives compared to private sector opportunities.
Hiring retired doctors is viewed as a temporary solution, a stop-gap to keep public hospitals functioning while longer-term recruitment is planned. Health officials have pledged to issue fresh advertisements for regular posts soon.
Meanwhile, the state is also pursuing a broader rationalisation of health-cadres, aiming to restructure sanctioned posts across medical officers and specialists to ensure more equitable distribution of manpower across regions, especially rural and border districts.
For patients, especially those in underserved rural or semi-urban areas, the move offers hope of improved access to specialist care, a long-standing problem in many districts. However, experts believe that unless retention, support infrastructure, and working conditions improve, the vacancies are likely to reappear.
(Rh/TL/MSM)
