In what portrays the government-run health service network in poor light, Odisha is armed with only one doctor for every 1,500 people in the state.

The national average of doctor-population ratio stands at 1: 811 while the World Health Organization’s prescribed norm specifies the posting of one doctor for 1,000 people.

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The State has a lesser doctor-population ratio than the WHO standard. Besides, it also lags way behind the national average.

As per the information available with the Orissa Council of Medical Registration, 29,792 doctors are registered with the body.

The coastal state is contending with the shortage of doctors in the wake of exodus of medical students passed out of medical students to other States apparently for better pay packages mostly in private healthcare institutions.

While the situation is comparatively better in urban centres, it is worse in rural areas which are home to 72 per cent of Odisha’s population but are served by only 40 per cent of the state’s doctors.

At the ground level, doctors face myriad hurdles due to lack of infrastructure, facilities impeding their motivation to serve in the rural areas, said an official of the State Health and family welfare department.

To tackle the issue, the Odisha Government earlier this year has modified the policy by introducing a bond agreement system to check the trend and retain their services in the State for at least two years.

It may be recalled here that the Orissa High Court had also expressed deep concern over the shortage of doctors in the State with abysmally low population-doctor ratio.