Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the Bengal government was facing an acute shortage of doctors to run healthcare establishments, particularly in villages, as physicians were reluctant to work in remote areas.

“Doctors trained here choose to work somewhere else. The scenario can be changed only when Bengal’s students get admission in medical colleges in the state. We have set up medical colleges and mother and child care hubs but making them operational is a problem because of the shortage of doctors,” the chief minister said in reply to a question in the Assembly.

Sources in the health department said Mamata flagged a problem the state was facing after the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical courses started.

“Students from Bengal are not cracking the test in large numbers. Students from other states are getting admission here and after they pass out, they go somewhere else to find a job, leaving Bengal in trouble,” said a senior official.

Mamata then cited an example. “We recently sought applications from doctors against 820 vacant posts. But we received only 105 applications, 101 turned for counselling and 39 of them joined finally. What can I do?” she said.

Sources said most vacant posts in healthcare establishments were in rural areas. “If anybody does not want to go to villages, what can I do?” Mamata asked.

Sources in the department said there was only one doctor for 10,411 people in Bengal, with the deficit pegged at 33 per cent.