Amaravati, Sep 24 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh government will fill as many as 14,037 different posts, including doctors, in the Medical and Health Department in an 85-day exercise likely to begin on September 28.

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The government has also taken a crucial decision to "completely prohibit" private practice by doctors as it is focused on scaling up healthcare in government hospitals, primary health centres and also the village clinics coming up across the state, according to department sources.

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The major recruitment drive is also aimed at fulfilling the government objective of taking healthcare services to the citizens' doorsteps through the family physician concept.

At a high-level review meeting on health here on Friday, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy gave the green signal for this major recruitment drive that would cost an additional Rs 676.83 crore to the state exchequer per annum.

The posts to be filled include civil assistant surgeons, lab technicians, pharmacists, mid-level health professionals, paramedics and other administrative staff.

The Medical and Health Department is currently incurring an expenditure of Rs 2,753.78 crore annually on staff salaries.

The state now has 3,779 surplus ANMs (auxiliary nurse midwife), with 611 of them having qualified in nursing.

"The surplus ANMs will be imparted an intensive two-year training in nursing at various government medical colleges and upon successful completion of training, positioned as staff nurses," a senior official of the Department said.

As per Indian Public Health Standards, AP requires a total of 3,708 doctors but after restructuring the state government cut down the number to 2,943. Of that, only 1,498 doctors are currently in government service, leaving a gap of 1,445.

Department sources said some of the posts would be filled through direct recruitment while some would be on outsourced basis. Some others would be filled through the respective District Selection Committees and some more through promotion of existing staff.

With more than 10 new medical colleges being established by the government, 282 assistant professors will also be recruited as part of the major drive, the sources added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)