All nine dispensaries in Ludhiana’s slum areas sans doctors

The nine slum area dispensaries set up in the district are running sans doctors.
The said dispensaries are located in Dholewal, Kidwai Nagar, Kot Mangal Singh, Guru Nanak Pura, Haibowal Khurd, Transport Nagar, Abdulapur Basti, Salem Tabri, and Khanna.
While on paper doctors are posted at the Kot Mangal Singh, Transport Nagar, and Kidwai Nagar dispensaries, they are not present on duty.
The doctor at Kot Mangal Singh has been absent since September 25, 2023. The one at Transport Nagar turned in his resignation in March this year but it has still not been accepted by the department. Finally, the one at Kidwai Nagar has been deputed to prison duty.
In contrast, the 20 urban dispensaries, or revamping centres, saw at least nine posts filled. In this case too, however, the RC Model Gram doctor has been absent since June 2022.
Civil surgeon Ludhiana Dr Pardeep Mohindra blamed the mismanagement to shortage of doctors. “There is a shortage of doctors. The health department has started the recruitment process for 400 posts,” he said.
Notably, of the 308 total posts for doctors across the district, 137 are lying vacant.
The civil surgeon said the state government’s flagship Aam Aadmi Clinics were operational in many areas close to where these dispensaries were and they were covering the patient load.”
However, when asked if the department saw the AACs as a replacement for the dispensaries, he rejected the comparison. “Both are different things. They complement each other,” he said.