Srinagar, Sep 25 :- The Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Department has outlined a series of measures to address manpower shortages, strengthen healthcare infrastructure and improve access to specialised services, particularly in remote and underserved areas.
The details were provided by the department in a starred question raised by the MLA Saifullah regarding the upgradation of health institutions, in which it said that efforts were underway to improve the availability of medical and paramedical personnel across government health facilities.
According to the reply, the department has a sanctioned strength of 51 posts of Senior Consultants, of which 40 are shown as vacant, while the sanctioned strength of Consultants is 936, with 393 vacancies. The department has also listed 2,859 sanctioned posts of Medical Officers, of which 840 are vacant.
The document said that appointment orders have recently been issued for 335 Medical Officers against the vacant posts. It further says that 480 posts of Medical Officers have been referred to the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) for recruitment, while the selection process for 416 candidates for the post of Medical Officer is at an advanced stage.
The department has also referred 466 posts of non-gazetted staff (Kashmir division) to the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for recruitment. According to the reply, once the selection process is completed, the newly selected staff will be posted to far-flung and underserved areas and health institutions facing manpower shortages.
The department has additionally referred 292 vacant posts of Maternity and Child Health (MCH), and Immunization, J&K and 290 vacancies in the non-gazetted/paramedical category from the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu have been referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (J&K SSB) for recruitment. This will significantly enhance and strengthen the healthcare system in under-served areas.
Besides, 839 Non Gazetted vacancies & 251 MTS (Class-IV) (Jammu Division) are under examination in Administrative Department and shall be referred to JKSSB for advertisement/recruitment after having concurrence of Finance Department
The department said that, as part of its efforts to strengthen specialist manpower, 22 institutions have 408 approved DNB seats, with 608 residents under training and 338 specialists having passed out, according to figures shared into the Assembly.
According to the reply, e-Sanjeevani is currently functioning through 31 hubs, 674 spoke-cum-hubs and 1,839 spokes, with 16.11 lakh cumulative tele-consultations delivered through the system. Tele-radiology has also been extended to 95 healthcare facilities, while Mobile Medical Units are being used to provide services to remote and underserved populations.
The department further said that Tele-MANAS Cell is operating at IMHANS, GMC Srinagar, providing 24×7 mental-health tele-consultation services. The reply records 1,72,994 calls registered as of September 12, 2026.
The Department of Health and Medical Education is committed to providing accessible, affordable and quality healthcare services to the people of Jammu & Kashmir and striving for continuous Improvement at all levels with greater focus on far-flung, remote and difficult areas through a multipronged strategy.
The demands for opening of new health institutions or up-gradation of existing facilities are examined on the basis of geographical feasibility, population, patient load, manpower, equipment, availability of encumbrance-free land, IPHS Norms, 2022, budgetary Implications, administrative consultations. dearances and inter-departmental.
The Health and Medical Education Department said its present strategy is to strengthen existing infrastructure and manpower, bridge critical service gaps, augment specialist availability, expand digital healthcare and improve outreach in far-flung areas.
