Pointing out wide disparities in distribution and availability of specific and specialised manpower in government hospitals across districts, the Karnataka Health Vision Group has recommended a clearly defined Health Human Resources (HRR) policy.
The policy should focus on structuring, augmenting, rationalising, distributing and utilising human resources in different geographical areas and in diverse disciplines, stated the recently released report brought out by the Vision Group.
The Vision Group that studied the HR situation in Karnataka with data available from the Department of Health and Family Welfare during the end of June 2021 found several deficiencies in the public health sector. During June 2021, Karnataka had 40,744 ASHA workers, 3,214 male health workers, 6,543 female health workers, 156 programme officers, 6,838 nurses, 1,886 pharmacists, 1,840 lab technicians, 228 physicians, 237 surgeons, 477 OB GYN specialists, 375 paediatricians, 289 dentists, 462 radiologists and 1,127 other specialists working in the public sector. “It is crucial to note that wide disparities exist in their distribution and availability across and within districts,” stated the report.
