HYDERABAD: The percentage of registered doctors joining government hospitals in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is 9.3, which is almost on a par with the national average of 10 per cent. But what should cheer both Telangana and AP is the fact that the number of government doctors is much higher than some of the other states which have very few serving government doctors though they have higher numbers of registered doctors.

As per the statistics available with the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHG) and Medical Council of India (MCI), a total of 93,756 doctors in AP are registered with the MCI or the state medical council, of which 5,114 doctors are working in government hospitals. In Telangana, of 4,942 doctors, 4,123 doctors have joined government hospitals.

Maharashtra has the highest number of registered doctors at 1,58,998, followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,27,848 and Karnataka at 1,04,794 doctors. However, despite such big numbers, government hospitals have very few doctors.

Further, around 966 doctors work in primary healthcare centres (PHCs), 125 doctors in community health centres (CHCs) and 201 registered dental surgeons. What’s jarring amid these positives is that there is just one government doctor for 9,343 people, while dental surgeons serve 1,91,642 people. Dr Sandhya, a public health official, said availability of doctors is very limited and those joining government service make things worse. “This is why public healthcare has not improved. Legislation is needed,” she said.