Telangana stares at staff crunch ahead of massive vaccination drive

Hyderabad: With just a week left for the start of mass vaccination drive from May 1, the Telangana government is staring at the medical staff crunch to administer vaccine and provide treatment to the increasing Covid patients at all government hospitals. As majority of doctors, paramedics and nurses are already engaged in corona patient treatment from Primary Health Centres to tertiary hospitals, the government is finding it hard to make available the required medical staff for the upcoming vaccination programme.

The Health department had already issued notification to hire doctors, nurses and paramedics on contract basis by offering good pay. A plan of action to rope in all medicos, nursing students from all government and private hospitals and paramedics from recognised training institutions is under consideration for the vaccination programme.

Officials said that required posts in the district hospitals would also be filled through District Selection Committees. The demand for Civil Assistant Surgeons in General Medicine and Pulmonology was high in the State to provide treatment to the critically-ill Covid patients in the intensive care units.

If required, all the teaching staff in government and private medical hospitals would be pressed into service to offer Covid treatment in all big hospitals where ICU units were set up, officials said, adding that the availability of nursing staff was a big challenge before the government. The trainee nurses in all teaching institutions would also be hired, if required, in the coming days.