Nearly 29 percent of approved health worker posts in government hospitals across the country remain vacant, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said today.
Responding to a question from Subikunnahar MP during the question-and-answer session at the parliament, the minister said 18,947 of the 65,230 approved health worker posts in government hospitals are currently vacant, accounting for 29 percent of the total.
He said there are 42,806 approved posts for doctors, of which 33,399 have been filled, leaving around 22 percent vacant.
Among nurses, 45,302 of the 49,879 approved posts have been filled, meaning 9.2 percent remain vacant.
The minister said Family Welfare Assistants (FWA) have 23,500 approved posts, but only 15,207 are filled, leaving 35.3 percent vacant. Of the 6,361 approved posts for Family Welfare Visitors (FWV), only 3,200 have been filled, resulting in a vacancy rate of 49.7 percent.
Community Health Care Providers (CHCP) are in the strongest position, with 13,902 of the 14,460 approved posts filled, representing a 96.3 percent occupancy rate. Among Health Assistants (HA), 13,956 of the 20,909 approved posts have been filled, leaving 33.3 percent vacant.
The minister said recruitment to fill the vacant posts is an ongoing process. As part of the drive, recruitment is underway for 450 people through the 45th BCS, 1,682 through the 46th BCS, 1,331 through the 47th BCS, and 650 assistant surgeons through the 50th BCS.
He said the Public Service Commission is also conducting recruitment to fill vacant Senior Staff Nurse posts. The results of the recruitment examination for the post of midwife have already been published.
"The vacant posts will be filled after completing the recruitment process very soon," the minister said.
Replying to another question from Sultana Ahmed, the minister said the process of rapidly recruiting 5,000 MBBS doctors is underway to expand healthcare services.
He also said 100,000 new health workers are being recruited to strengthen preventive healthcare at the field level, around 80 percent of whom are women. In addition, 25,000 midwives, two for each union, will be recruited over the next three to four years to strengthen rural and maternal healthcare.
The minister also announced that the government has launched a mega project to establish five specialised children's hospitals within the next six months.
Each of the 200-bed hospitals will be built in Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur, Rajshahi and Cumilla divisions. The facilities will be equipped with intensive care units (ICUs) and central air-conditioning to strengthen paediatric healthcare services across the country.
The minister said the BNP government has announced a number of major reforms, policies and mega transformations for the health sector and has shifted the healthcare model from being treatment-centric to prevention-centric.
Following the UK General Practitioner model, he said, the government has adopted a policy to establish a primary healthcare unit in every ward of every union and city, with three community clinics operating under each unit.
He said a project has been undertaken to upgrade upazila hospitals to 101 beds. For the first time in rural healthcare, posts for both female and male physiotherapists have been created in every hospital.
To reduce pressure on Dhaka, district hospitals are being modernised to provide treatment for cancer and kidney disease. An integrated secondary healthcare unit is also being established by linking district hospitals with surrounding upazila health complexes.
As part of universal health coverage, the government is introducing a digital health card (e-Health Card) system for citizens, which will be linked to an integrated patient management and referral system.
The minister also said a policy has been adopted to introduce a modern competency-based MBBS curriculum and incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into medical training by 2030.
