Postgraduate resident medicos to spend 3 months at district hospitals

VK Paul, NITI Aayog member, on Wednesday said under the district residency programme (DRP), postgraduate medicos have to mandatorily spend at least three months at a district hospital.

During the post-Budget panel discussion, Paul said, “All second year postgraduate resident medical students belonging to any speciality can now be posted to district hospitals for a period of three months. This will give them real life experience. This will help in enhancing the strength of district level hospitals and provide better healthcare facilities.”

Under the DRP, the resident doctor will be posted with specialty team at the district hospital. The clinical responsibilities assigned to the residents would include serving in outpatient, inpatient, casualty and other areas pertaining to their speciality and encompass night duties.

As the government aims to establish day care cancer centres in each district, doctors said this would also enhance manpower at these centres.

“Around 1.46 million new cancer cases are registered every year. A lot of them go undiagnosed and this has to change. We are laying emphasis on early screening. A total of 26 crore people have been screened from oral parts, 14 crore for breast cancer. We have established 19 state cancer institutes,” he said.

The government would facilitate establishing day care cancer centres in all districts. He said the government has approved 19 State Cancer Institutes (SCIs) and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCCs).

“Two hundred of these will be established in this fiscal year. We will strengthen 372 that already exist,” said Paul, adding that the day care cancer centres would focus on providing chemotherapy services and conducting cancer prevention programmes.

He said in the last decade, India had moved from 387 medical colleges to 780.