Half of the doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, are all set to go on their month-long summer vacation from June 1 while the rest are already enjoying the holidays.

Sources said not only the hospital-related work but teaching would also be affected at AIIMS Patna.

According to the sources, there are many departments, which are being run by single doctors at the hospital including medicine, dentistry, cardiology, radiotherapy among others. These departments would be fully dependent on its senior residents in the absence of doctors.

At AIIMS, doctors are entitled to month-long summer vacation unlike state-run medical colleges, including Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) among others.

Shailesh Kumar Mukul, head, dentistry department, is among the lot of doctors who would go on a month-long vacation from June 1. Mukul is the only doctor in his department. He, however, added that neither teaching nor hospital-related work would be affected in his absence. "There are two senior residents in my department. The outpatient department would remain open even during my vacation and it would be handled by the senior residents. Even indoor admission would be taken but no surgery would be done in my absence. We cannot rely on senior residents for surgery," Mukul admitted.

Pritanjali Singh, head, radiotherapy department, also said hospital-related work would not get hampered because of her vacation even though she happened to be the single doctor in her department. "I have four junior residents in my department who would handle the OPD. Besides, I would live in Patna only during my vacation. So I will visit the hospital very often because I understand my responsibilities being the only doctor in my department," said Pritanjali.

The sources, however, said Pritanjali being the only faculty member in her department, teaching would be affected in radiotherapy as junior residents cannot take classes.

AIIMS-Patna medical superintendent Umesh Kumar Bhadani admitted that the hospital work would be a little bit affected because of vacation of doctors but he assured that it would not be completely hampered.

A doctor in the surgery department, who did not wish to be named, said in absence of full strength, the working ones would definitely be overburdened. "There is no problem with summer vacation because doctors at all other AIIMS are also entitled for this and they, too, go on vacation but here the problem is big because there are less faculty members."

The sources said only 55 doctors were working at the hospital at present against the sanctioned post of 305. They said recruitment process for the four departments - medicine, surgery, plastic surgery and ophthalmology - were initiated in January but that were stalled due to a an objection letter sent by the former deputy director (administration) of the hospital Anil Kishore Yadav to the Centre, alleging that the AIIMS-Patna administration did not abide by a few criteria during the recruitment process initiated in January.

AIIMS-Patna director G.K. Singh said: "The recruitment process was stalled at the Union government level because the institute and governing body of the hospital (Union health minister J.P. Nadda is chairman of both the institute and governing body) was taking time to ratify the recruitment process. Several times, I have asked time from the ministry for the institute and governing body meeting but still we have not been given any date."

Singh said AIIMS-Patna had advertised for the post of 195 posts in the December last year and the whole recruitment process was taking much more time to complete because the institute and governing body meetings were getting delayed.

The sources said while on one hand the premier health hub is already grappling with the problem of lack of doctors, the brain drain of medicos is continuing. The last one to move was Vandita Singh who was working in the pathology department. Vandita left the institution on May 6 for AIIMS-Raipur.

There are still many departments, including ophthalmology, urology among others, where not a single doctor is at present. These departments still exist on paper.