The Karnataka Health Department has initiated the relocation of doctors from community health centres (CHCs) to taluk hospitals to address the uneven distribution of medical professionals and improve overall healthcare delivery across the state. The move comes after a review revealed a decline in the number of deliveries at several CHCs serving rural populations.
Karnataka operates more than 270 CHCs, providing consultations, basic treatments, and emergency care. Internal data indicated that multiple CHCs recorded fewer than 30 deliveries per month, leading officials to transfer specialist staff—including obstetricians, pediatricians, and anesthetists—to taluk hospitals where demand for specialised services is higher.
The process involves analysing monthly delivery figures to identify centres where specialists are under-utilised. Doctors from under-performing CHCs are being redeployed to strengthen maternal and child healthcare as well as other specialised services at higher-level facilities.
While the relocation aims to optimise resource use and ensure doctors are available where they are most needed, it has raised concerns among rural communities that rely on CHCs for primary care, potentially reducing immediate access to advanced treatments.
The Health Department is also considering transferring additional specialists, such as radiologists and general medicine doctors, to taluk hospitals. This redistribution is expected to reshape healthcare dynamics in rural areas while taluk facilities prepare to absorb the increased personnel.
The initiative reflects a strategic shift in Karnataka’s healthcare planning, balancing the expansion of capacity at larger hospitals with efficient utilisation of medical resources across the state’s public health system.
