New Delhi: Posts of over 300 doctors and 1,100 staff nurses are lying vacant in Himachal Pradesh, state Health and Family Welfare Minister Vipin Singh Parmar said on Wednesday.

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Replying to queries raised by Congress MLA Mohan Lal Brakta and BJP's Vinod Kumar during Question Hour, the Health Minister informed the Assembly that the posts of 319 doctors and 1106 staff nurses are lying vacant in the state.

Providing data, he said 590 doctors had been appointed from August 1, last year to July 31, this year while no staff member was appointed during the period.

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The appointment of medical staff is an ongoing process, the minister added.

had earlier reported that In a major relief to the PG medical Aspirants in the state, Himachal Pradesh government had earlier decided to reduce from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 5 lakh the bond money for MBBS doctors who pursue higher medical courses

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The issue of shortage of doctors is a major one for the hilly state. Last year Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had announced that the state government would soon take a decision to fill up the posts of dental doctors on regular basis through Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission.

He also said that that efforts would be made to provide more job avenues to the dental doctors and the government would make efforts to ensure the availability of dental doctors in the rural areas in a phased manner.

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