MUMBAI, Oct. 5 -- The number of surgeries in government hospitals across the state has almost doubled in the last few years, from 345,000 in 2020-21 to 650,00 in 2024-25. The numbers represent minor and major operations that have taken place in the entire gamut of healthcare facilities, from the district hospitals, rural hospitals and general hospitals to specialised women's hospitals and even referral service hospitals. Trauma Care centres, located close to important highways and meant mainly for accident victims, have also seen a rise, though nowhere as dramatic, from 16,910 surgeries in 2022-23 to 17,844 in 2024-25. Between April and December 2025, trauma care hospitals had already done 18,990 surgeries. Health officials claim the trend has been on the rise since Covid-19 struck. "That was a turning point in health services," said an official. "Citizens realised the importance of the public healthcare sector and how it rose to the occasion during a crisis. Since then, the trust in government hospitals has increased." Joint director (hospitals) Dr Sunita Golhait believes the rise had much to do with the expansion of services in government hospitals and improved penetration of government facilities across the state. "The quality of services too has improved," she said. "The government has worked hard to improve the modulation of its operation theatres, and also enrolled various specialist doctors and surgeons on an annual contract basis to ensure that factors like the shortage of staff does not impact the delivery of healthcare services." Health activists, however, argue that the figures are hardly a reflection of improved services, with the delivery of health services continuing to be a concern across the state. "Clearly, there seems to be a gap between the rosy picture suggested by the statistics and the reality on the ground in the state's public hospitals," said Girish B, a member of the Jan Arogya Abhiyan, a citizen-led non-profit seeking improved public healthcare. "Public hospitals continue to be plagued by vacancies, which cannot be filled by contractual staff, given the nature of specialised care needed in the healthcare sector." The activist pointed out that as per an affidavit filed by the public health department in January 2025, 748 posts or 42.7% of the total 1,750 approved seats for the medical health service group, which includes the district surgeon district health officer and specialists cadre, had been left vacant. Similarly, 9.3% of the medical officer posts continue to be vacant, with 804 posts vacant of the total approved 8,610 posts across the state. Of the 7,806 posts filled up in this category, only 6,132 posts were filled with regular staff employees and the remaining 1,361 posts were filled with ad hoc staff while 313 posts were filled by those on medical bonds. "Maharashtra's expenditure on public health and family welfare ranged between 3.9% in 2022-23 and about 4.3% of the aggregate expenditure in 2023-24," said Girish. "In 2024-25, the budgetary estimate for health spending was just 4.1% of the state's aggregate expenditure, the second lowest figure among all the states in the country." Girish added that although free healthcare entailed zero out-of-pocket expenses, people were prescribed expensive medicines that were not available at the hospitals and asked to buy them from outside."...