Srinagar, Mar 5: While postgraduate medical seats continue to increase in medical colleges of India, including those in J&K, doctors have raised concerns about the lack of corresponding specialist positions in Government healthcare institutions.
The chasm between the number of MD degree-holding doctors and available consultant-level posts has triggered demands for reforms to cater to the changing landscape of healthcare and to increase the specialist workforce.
In the ongoing academic session, the Union Health Ministry effected a vast expansion in postgraduate medical education across states and UTs.
According to data shared in Parliament by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the country added 29,080 new MD/MS postgraduate seats between 2020–21 and 2025–26. The largest single-year jump of 7,619 seats was in 2025–26 alone. The expansion included several para-clinical and non-clinical disciplines such as Community Medicine, Microbiology, Bio-Chemistry, Pharmacology and Forensic Medicine. Hundreds of new seats have been approved nationally in these disciplines, including 291 seats in Community Medicine, 242 in Microbiology, 243 in Bio-Chemistry, 193 in Pharmacology and 113 in Forensic Medicine.
J&K Medical Colleges received their fair share of an increase in these disciplines.
Doctors say that while academic opportunities have expanded significantly, the creation of corresponding specialist posts in the public health system has not kept pace. This has left many MD graduates in these disciplines with limited employment pathways upon degree completion.
In 2022, the Directorate of Health Services Kashmir (DHSK) wrote a detailed communication for the creation of new posts of Senior Consultant/Consultant in Community Medicine, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Forensic Medicine. It reasoned the pressing need to upgrade clinical and public health services in J&K.
The official letter (DHSK/Plg/2022–23/3945) dated 15 September 2022, addressed to the Health and Medical Education Department, J&K, the Directorate has proposed a slew of changes in the direction of improving patient care and healthcare delivery. Aimed at “improvisation/strengthening of health care services in the interest of patient care and population health” the communication refers to an earlier 2018 proposal. It notes that several other states, like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh, have already created such specialist positions.
The Directorate has provided detailed justification and referenced lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has referenced the complexity of diagnostic, therapeutic and medico-legal work across government hospitals. The Directorate has proposed posts of Senior Consultant and Consultant in Community Medicine (SPM). The specialist, as per the Directorate, will provide technical advisory support on national health programmes, disease prevention, epidemiological investigations, quality assurance, disaster management, maternal & child health, mental health, geriatric health and emerging/re-emerging diseases, including COVID-19.
For similar positions in Bio-Chemistry, the Directorate has justified the requirement for supervision of modern laboratories, equipment, quality assurance, research programmes and interpretation of bio-chemical investigations. The proposal underlines the “tremendous pressure” on diagnostic services, and the growing arena of evidence-based medicine, analytical validation of commercial RT-PCR and other tests.
Similarly, for Consultant and senior consultant positions in Microbiology, the Directorate has said that these are “the cornerstone in diagnosis and treatment of all infectious diseases known to mankind,” adding that such specialists cover the entire spectrum of clinical microbiology. These are also involved in detection and antibiotic susceptibility testing, and other major infectious diseases are still responsible for a significant disease burden.
For Pharmacology, the specialist will monitor adverse drug reactions, conduct prescription audits, promote rational drug use, educate healthcare practitioners and medical students, assist in regulatory compliance and formulate protocols for antibiotic stewardship.
Consultants of Forensic Medicine will provide expert medico-legal opinions, oversee post-mortems, injury certificates, DNA sampling and all district-level medico-legal cases. In addition, their services will also be crucial in cases of traffic accidents, firearm injuries, medical negligence, organ transplantation and alcohol/drug-related cases under the NDPS Act.
The letter caps off with “in the above backdrop, it is recommended that the sanction for creation of the above posts may kindly be considered and necessary instructions may be conveyed in the betterment of Health Care Services.”
An official in the H&ME Education Department said no progress has yet been made on the proposal. He said that the new specialists, if the posts are given a nod, will significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy, infection control, rational drug use, public health planning and medico-legal services in the peripheral healthcare systems.
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