The crisis is acute in border districts, where several sub-divisional hospitals lack both radiologists and general physicians.
Patiala: Punjab’s state-run healthcare system faces a shortage of medical specialists, leaving multiple districts without expert care in key disciplines, according to a recent state health department analysis.
The shortage spans critical specialties, including radiology, psychiatry, forensic medicine, general medicine, and paediatrics. These gaps directly impair the capacity of district and sub-divisional hospitals to deliver essential services, such as diagnostic imaging, mental healthcare, medico-legal examinations, and specialised medical and pediatric care. Districts such as Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, and Sangrur do not have a single regular radiologist, forcing patients to seek private care. Patiala has only one. The shortage is equally pronounced across other core disciplines. The dearth of forensic experts is disrupting medico-legal evaluations, particularly in cases involving suspicious or custodial deaths that require post-mortem examinations by trained specialists.
The health department has only 12 regular radiologists across the state, despite state-run hospitals being equipped with X-ray, ultrasound, and diagnostic machines. In general medicine, 18 of 52 sanctioned posts lie vacant with only 34 filled. Paediatrics faces a similar deficit with 47 vacancies out of 112 sanctioned positions, while forensic medicine is operating at a fraction of its required strength, with just 5 of 19 sanctioned posts currently filled.
Because local district hospitals lack available experts, bodies are routinely referred from one district to another, or sent to medical colleges,.
