CGHS faces major doctor shortage; 216 posts vacant in Delhi alone

NEW DELHI: The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), which provides healthcare to lakhs of central government employees and pensioners, is grappling with significant vacancies of doctors across the country, with Delhi alone reporting 216 vacant posts of General Duty Medical Officers (GDMOs).In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on February 10, Minister of State for Health Shri Prataprao Jadhav informed that recruitment of doctors for CGHS is conducted through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The Ministry sends annual requisitions to UPSC, which conducts the Combined Medical Services Examination (CMSE) and interviews for recruitment of GDMOs and specialists. Recruited doctors are then posted to central government hospitals and units including CGHS.Data tabled in Parliament reveal sharp regional disparities in staffing. In Delhi, against a sanctioned strength of 703 GDMO posts, only 487 are filled, leaving 216 vacant. Kolkata has 29 vacancies, Lucknow 16, Kanpur 15, Meerut 13 and Chandigarh 9. Cities such as Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun and Guwahati also show gaps, while some centres including Jaipur, Trivandrum, Chennai and Hyderabad currently have no GDMO vacancies.

The shortage is not limited to general duty doctors. Among non-teaching specialists, several cities are operating with large gaps. Chennai has 13 vacancies, Hyderabad 12, Mumbai 9 and Prayagraj 8. Delhi, despite being better staffed than many others, still has 15 specialist posts vacant.Dental posts show comparatively smaller gaps, but vacancies persist in cities such as Delhi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mumbai and Nagpur.Overall, the figures indicate that CGHS dispensaries in multiple major cities are functioning below sanctioned strength, raising concerns about workload, waiting times and service delivery in facilities that cater to a large beneficiary base.The ministry stated that filling up vacancies is a continuous process and recruitment is undertaken as per provisions through UPSC examinations and interviews. However, the data underscore the scale of staffing gaps at a time when demand for outpatient services under CGHS continues to rise.