Increase in medical recruitment not at the expense of other graduates, says Health Minister

While the Royal Civil Service Commission’s (RCSC) decision to increase medical recruitment has raised concerns about shrinking opportunities for graduates in other fields, the Health Minister, Tandin Wangchuk, clarified that this is not the case.

Lyonpo Tandin Wangchuk acknowledged that the RCSC has indeed increased the intake of medical professionals in recent years, but explained that these decisions are not made independently by the commission.

“Such decisions are not made unilaterally by RCSC. The recruitment process is guided by the annual human resource requisitions submitted by the Ministry of Health and the National Medical Services,” the Health Minister said.

According to Ministry of Health (MoH), the increase in medical recruitment reflects a deliberate effort to strengthen and expand health services nationwide.

“As you are aware, the ministry has been enhancing the scope of care in existing health facilities and constructing new ones, based on factors such as population growth, economic activities, and outpatient and inpatient service demands,” Lyonpo said.

Lyonpo further explained that expanding the health workforce is critical to tackling the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and other emerging public health challenges.

“Since my first tenure as Health Minister, we have consistently engaged with the RCSC to advocate for an increase in the recruitment of medical professionals to ensure that our health system remains resilient and responsive to the evolving needs of our population,” he added.

“While the intake of medical professionals has indeed increased, it would be inaccurate to conclude that this has come at the expense of other graduates,” the Health Minister said, noting that recruitment trends over the years have remained broadly balanced across various professional categories.

MoH explained that, according to the RCSC, recruitments for different professions are handled separately and do not affect one another. This means that an increase in medical recruitment does not reduce opportunities in other fields. For instance, hiring additional doctors would not lead to a reduction in teacher vacancies.

Prime Minister, Dasho Tshering Tobgay, also underlined the urgency of addressing the shortage of health workers in the country, saying that this issue arises every year and must be prioritized to ensure adequate healthcare delivery for all citizens.