A Dainik Bhaskar report reveals a serious administrative failure in Rajasthan’s health system, where 2,500 doctor posts remain vacant while 930 doctors are kept on APO and used for office work instead of treating patients, worsening rural healthcare and hospital overload across the state.
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Rajasthan’s public health system is currently facing a deep and systemic crisis that goes far beyond the usual discussion of staff shortages. According to a report published by Dainik Bhaskar, the state has nearly 2,500 doctor posts lying vacant even as around 930 doctors remain stuck in APO (Awaiting Posting Orders) status and are being used largely for administrative and clerical work in the health department headquarters and medical colleges. This strange situation has created a paradox in which hospitals are struggling to function due to lack of doctors while hundreds of trained medical professionals are prevented from doing clinical work and are instead pushed into file handling and office duties.
As per official data, Rajasthan has around 18,000 sanctioned posts for doctors in the government health system, but only about 15,500 doctors are actually working on the ground, leaving a gap of nearly 2,500 doctors. This shortage is not limited to remote or tribal areas but is increasingly visible even in larger cities such as Jaipur. The burden of this gap is being carried by an already overworked workforce, leading to overcrowded outpatient departments, longer waiting times, and increasing strain on emergency and inpatient services across the state.
The scale of the healthcare infrastructure in Rajasthan makes this shortage even more alarming. At present, the state has 63 district hospitals, 125 sub district hospitals, 31 satellite hospitals, 849 community health centers, 2,816 primary health centers, and more than 15,000 health sub centers. Despite this wide network, a large number of these institutions are running without adequate numbers of doctors, and many specialist posts in medicine, surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, and anesthesia remain vacant, forcing patients either to accept suboptimal care or to travel long distances in search of treatment.
One of the most troubling aspects of the current situation is the presence of around 930 doctors who are officially on APO but are not posted in hospitals. These doctors include senior residents, post PG doctors, and post diploma doctors who should ideally be strengthening clinical services in district hospitals and peripheral health centers. Instead, many of them are reportedly engaged in non clinical duties at the health department headquarters and in medical colleges, where they spend their time on paperwork and administrative tasks, which represents a gross misuse of highly trained medical manpower.
From a financial perspective, the situation is equally irrational. If all APO doctors are given proper postings, the government would have to bear an additional salary burden of around ₹50 crore. However, even in their current idle or underutilized state, the government is already paying these doctors, which means public money is being spent without any corresponding benefit to patient care. This reflects not just poor planning but a serious failure of administrative prioritization within the health system.
The worst impact of this mismanagement is being felt in rural and semi urban areas, where many community health centers and primary health centers are being run by a single doctor or sometimes even without any permanent doctor. Due to the absence of specialists, patients with complicated conditions are either referred unnecessarily to higher centers or are diagnosed late, which in turn increases morbidity and mortality, particularly in cases involving maternal health, emergencies, and serious chronic diseases.
According to the Dainik Bhaskar report, doctors are placed on APO for a variety of reasons, including delays in joining, pending inquiries, complaints, or incomplete training requirements. However, even after these issues are resolved, files related to their postings often remain stuck at higher administrative levels, including the health minister’s office, which results in doctors waiting for months without any clear timeline for deployment to hospitals where they are actually needed.
This situation also represents a clear violation of existing service rules. Under Rajasthan’s service regulations, any doctor placed on APO is supposed to be given a posting within one month. In reality, many doctors have been waiting for three to four months or even longer, which shows how badly human resource management in the health department has deteriorated and how little accountability exists for administrative delays.
The most disturbing question raised by this entire episode is not merely about numbers but about priorities. When the state already has trained doctors available, why are hospitals still functioning with critical shortages? When patients are waiting for hours and traveling hundreds of kilometers for basic care, why are doctors being kept busy with files instead of patients? This reflects a system where paperwork and bureaucratic procedures have begun to dominate over the fundamental purpose of public healthcare.
In the end, this is not just a staffing problem but a clear failure of governance. On one side, Rajasthan is facing a shortage of around 2,500 doctors, and on the other side, nearly 930 doctors are being wasted in non clinical roles due to administrative paralysis. Unless the government urgently streamlines the posting process and ensures that available doctors are deployed where patients actually need them, the public health system will continue to suffer not because of lack of resources, but because of chronic administrative inertia.
Source and Credit:
Based on a report published in Dainik Bhaskar, Jaipur edition.
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