The Director General, who was in the city to review the passing out parade at AFMC, also said the AFMS has expressed the need for more doctors to the Ministry of Defence and stressed that 14 of the 35 vacancies for civilian medical officers (CMOs), that they had demanded, have been sanctioned. “At present the Army is facing only a 3-5 per cent shortage of doctors,” he said.

“During AFMC’s early years, only 50 per cent of the AFMC cadets joined the armed forces, and almost 10 per cent of even those left midway,” said Singh. “Every year there is an intake of 300 doctors into the armed forces, and AFMC contributes only 100 of those while the others are taken from the other medical colleges,” he said.

“With the number of patients increasing at a rate of 1.5 lakh per year, we have communicated that 3,000 more doctors will be needed to combat the rising numbers of patients in the future. While the Ministry of Defence has given their approval the decision from the Ministry of Finance is awaited,” said Singh.