Assam Faces Super-Speciality Doctor Shortage as Specialists Reluctant to Join Government Hospitals

Guwahati: Assam Health Minister Ashok Singhal on Tuesday said the state has adequate funds to appoint super-speciality doctors but is struggling to fill vacancies because many specialists are reluctant to work in government healthcare institutions.

Speaking to reporters after the Swasthya Chintan Shivir 2026 at Khanapara, Singhal said the government has sufficient funds to fill specialist posts, but finding doctors willing to work in government hospitals remains a challenge.

“It's not that the government doesn't have money to employ them, but first we have to find such super-speciality doctors,” Singhal said, pointing to vacancies in fields such as cardiology and neurology in district hospitals.

The minister said the Health Department also ensures that doctors are not burdened with additional duties assigned to government employees in other departments. Despite this, specialist posts continue to remain vacant.

Singhal said the expansion of medical education in Assam could gradually address the shortage. He noted that eight medical colleges have been established in the state over the past decade, while Bongaigaon Medical College is also expected to come up soon.

The minister had earlier acknowledged the shortage of specialist doctors during his visit to Mangaldai Civil Hospital in June. He had attributed the problem partly to the limited number of postgraduate seats in the state's medical colleges and said efforts to bring specialists from outside Assam had not yielded the desired results. However, he had ruled out any shortage of general MBBS doctors.

Singhal also highlighted the growing dependence on government healthcare facilities in Assam, saying public hospitals and health centres record around 4.5 crore outpatient visits.

He said the high footfall reflects the trust people place in the state's public healthcare system.

The remarks were made during the Swasthya Chintan Shivir 2026, which brought together stakeholders to discuss challenges in public healthcare, medical education and research in Assam. Singhal said the objective was to turn discussions into concrete decisions and measurable outcomes to ensure more efficient and patient-centric healthcare services.