MCI inspects IGMC, Kamla Nehru hospitals
Kuldeep Chauhan
Tribune News Service
Shimla, December 11
A three-member team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) today inspected the 780-bed Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and the 175-bed Kamla Nehru Hospital here as part of a routine inspection.
The team will submit its report to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare listing shortcomings, if any, in the 100 MBBS seats college for further action.
The MCI is doing its final inspection of the IGMC for 100 MBBS seats. The MCI has already done inspection of the Tanda medical college early this month for 100 MBBS seats and it will be the MCI’s second last inspection, say health officials.
The MCI team inspected both hospitals, including labs and faculty positions, as mandated under the MCI. The inspection would continue tomorrow and the team would give its observation to the state government later, said officials in the IGMC.
An inspection by the MCI last year had created a political storm after it recommended the cutting of seats at the IGMC and the Tanda medical college, but restored 100 seats each to both medical institutes after the matter was taken up with the Centre.
The MCI has been targeting the government medical colleges while it has given a free run to private medical universities and colleges in the state, say faculty members. It is good that the MCI should point out deficiencies in the colleges, but it should treat both on a par, they said.
The MCI had observed certain deficiencies in staff for super-specialty subjects at the IGMC and staff for undergraduate subjects at the Tanda medical college. Both the IGMC and the Tanda medical college have 100 MBBS seats each. The government had increased 50 more MBBS seats at the Tanda medical college about three years ago and would be under the MCI scanner till last year as the MCI inspects each medical college for five years, said officials.
Faculty members of the medical colleges and the HP Medical Officers Association (HPMOA) had raised concern over certain deficiencies in staff mainly meant for the additional 50 MBBS students added to the Tanda medical college in 2011. The Health Department should recruit staff and set up labs in the college as required under the MCI guidelines, they added.
