The Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh is reportedly battling a severe shortage of doctors, nurses, and support staff, with 121 of 434 sanctioned medical posts lying vacant — a deficit of nearly 28 per cent spread across 23 departments. The staffing crisis at one of northeast India's oldest and most critical tertiary healthcare institutions has raised alarm over patient care quality and workforce sustainability.

Scale of the Doctor Shortage

According to senior officials, only 313 doctors are currently in position against a sanctioned strength of 434. The vacancy spans nearly every clinical and pre-clinical department, and a concurrent deficit of junior doctors has further compounded the workload borne by existing medical teams.

The manpower gap has reportedly deepened after doctors and other employees were transferred to newly established medical colleges in districts such as Tinsukia and Lakhimpur. The posts vacated following these transfers have yet to be filled, leaving AMCH structurally understaffed even as its patient footfall remains consistently high.

Nursing Staff Under Extreme Strain

The nursing workforce at AMCH faces perhaps the starkest imbalance. The hospital currently operates with approximately 449 nurses catering to nearly 2,000 beds. When AMCH was upgraded from a medical school to a medical college in 1947, it had roughly 900 beds and a comparable number of nurses. While bed capacity has more than doubled since then, nursing strength has remained virtually unchanged — a gap of nearly eight decades.

This reportedly results in individual nurses handling between 150 and 200 patients during some night shifts, raising serious concerns about the time available for monitoring, medication administration, and essential bedside care.

Diagnostic Equipment Failures Add to the Crisis

Beyond staffing, diagnostic services at AMCH are also reportedly suffering. MRI and CT scan machines have experienced frequent breakdowns, according to hospital sources. When these machines remain unavailable, economically weaker patients are often forced to turn to private diagnostic centres, where scans can cost thousands of rupees — an out-of-pocket burden that undermines the purpose of a public tertiary facility.

Why It Matters for Northeast India

AMCH Dibrugarh serves as the primary referral centre for Upper Assam and receives patients from several surrounding districts as well as neighbouring states including Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. The hospital's catchment population runs into millions, and any degradation in its capacity has a cascading impact on healthcare access across the region.

Notably, the staffing and equipment gaps have emerged even as Assam expands its network of medical colleges and healthcare infrastructure. Critics argue that the expansion drive, while welcome, risks hollowing out established institutions if transfer-driven vacancies are not backfilled promptly.

What Lies Ahead

For the millions of patients dependent on AMCH for affordable tertiary care, the shortage in manpower and diagnostic facilities remains a pressing concern. Whether the Assam government moves to expedite recruitment and equipment repair at AMCH — or continues to prioritise new college commissioning — will determine whether one of the northeast's anchor hospitals can sustain its role as a healthcare lifeline.