128 faculty, 268 consultant posts vacant at SKIMS, DHS J&K

By: Jahangeer Ganaie

Srinagar: There are 388 posts lying vacant at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura, and among them, 128 are faculty positions.

As per the details obtained by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the total sanctioned faculty strength at SKIMS Soura is 293, and of that, 165 are in position while 128 are lying vacant.

Details also reveal that among the 16 medical officers at the institute, just two are in position while 14 are lying vacant. Furthermore, among 776 paramedical staff, 530 are in position and 246 are lying vacant.

Meanwhile, an official told KNO that out of 128 vacant faculty positions, 13 have been referred to JKPSC, while 115 are under consideration for revival/concurrence. He said that 14 medical officer posts have been referred to JKPSC, while among 246 vacant paramedical staff positions, 21 have been sent to JKSSB, and 225 are under review for revival/concurrence.

As per the details available with KNO, there are 11 senior consultants and 131 consultant positions lying vacant in all hospitals of the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu. In the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir, the number of consultant posts lying vacant includes 42 in district hospitals and 84 in sub-district hospitals. Three hundred thirty-seven posts of medical officers are lying vacant in hospitals of DHSJ while 254 posts of medical officers are lying vacant in DHSK.

Details also reveal that 67 posts of dental surgeons are lying vacant at DHSJ while 26 posts of dental surgeons are lying vacant at DHSK. It also reveals that 997 posts of paramedics are lying vacant in district hospitals, sub-district hospitals, and primary health centres of DHSJ, while 1,447 posts of paramedics are lying vacant in DHSK.

Health Minister Sakina Itoo recently mentioned in the Assembly that in November 2024, 365 selectees were appointed as medical officers in the J&K Health & Family Welfare (Gazetted) Services, and these medical officers have been posted in far-flung/peripheral health institutes across J&K to strengthen medical/health care facilities at the grassroots level.

The department is also in the process of operating the waitlist for 91 selectee medical officers, whose services will also be utilised in underserved areas across J&K. “Besides, 181 posts of medical officers are still to be received from the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission. Upon receiving the selections, the selectee doctors will be posted at health institutions experiencing staff shortages,” the minister said.

She added that 292 vacancies in the non-gazetted/paramedical category from the Directorate of Family Welfare, Maternity and Child Health (MCH) and Immunization, and 290 vacancies in the Directorate of Health Services, Jammu have also been referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (J&K SSB). —(KNO)