Chronic shortages of specialist doctors and delays in approving frontline health worker posts in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been flagged before the Union health ministry, highlighting persistent gaps in the Union Territory’s public healthcare system.
The issues were raised by Bishnu Pada Ray, Member of Parliament from the Islands, during meetings in New Delhi. A statement issued by the MP’s office said the representations focused on the growing impact of manpower shortages on patient care and emergency response across government hospitals.
According to the statement, a key concern highlighted was the acute shortage of specialist doctors in secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands rely heavily on GB Pant Hospital, which functions as the Union Territory’s sole major referral and tertiary-care centre.
GB Pant Hospital currently has a capacity of 412 beds and records an average outpatient footfall of around 1,200 patients a day, with bed occupancy reported to be close to 90%. Despite this sustained load, the statement said, shortages of specialist doctors continue to limit access to advanced medical care, forcing many patients to seek referrals to the mainland for specialised treatment.
The absence of specialists, it added, has weakened critical services such as emergency care, diagnostics and specialised procedures, increasing dependence on medical evacuations, a significant challenge in a geographically isolated territory where air and sea connectivity is often weather-dependent.
To address the gap, the Union government was urged to post specialist doctors from the Central Health Services cadre to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Deputation of specialists on a rotational basis was also proposed as an interim measure until permanent appointments are finalised.
The statement also flagged the delay in approval of 44 health worker posts, both male and female, proposed by the Andaman and Nicobar Health Department and pending with the Centre. These posts, it said, are critical for strengthening last-mile healthcare delivery, particularly in remote and rural islands where primary health centres and sub-centres form the first point of medical contact.
Shortages at the frontline level continue to affect routine medical outreach, maternal and child health services and public health programmes, placing additional pressure on already stretched facilities, the statement added.
The concerns were conveyed during meetings held on December 19, 2025, with senior officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, who reportedly assured that the issues would be examined on priority and that steps would be taken to expedite pending proposals. The ministry said outcomes would be communicated in due course.
Public health observers, however, caution that meaningful improvement will depend on sustained follow-through, noting that similar assurances in the past have not always translated into timely action on the ground.
