Caught in red tape, physiotherapy department at PGI sans ‘active’ head

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 17

The department of physiotherapy of the PGI seems to be caught in red tape.

The department is operating without any ‘active head’ of the department for over 10 years. Out of four posts of physiotherapy cadre, the higher two posts of superintendent physiotherapist and consultant physiotherapist are lying vacant since 1999.

“All senior physiotherapists are eligible for promotion as superintendent physiotherapist, but their files are gathering dust. Pardeep Kumar Sarkar, who was last promoted in 2007, was awaiting promotion since 2012. However, even after six years, there has been no word over his promotion,” said one of the physiotherapists.

Two physiotherapists left their job in March this year due to the alleged lax promotion policies of the PGI authorities.

There are around 32 physiotherapists, but not a single faculty to teach physiotherapy students.

“Currently, around 75 students are pursuing bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy course. However, the absence of faculty is affecting their studies,” said one of the physiotherapists.

PGIMER Physiotherapy Association President Dr R Hariharan said in 1995, the PGI became the first institute in the country to start the four-and-a-half-year Bachelor of Physiotherapy (BPT) course.

“Since then, no teaching faculty was appointed. To top it all, there is no classroom for students of Bachelor of Physiotherapy in the department of physical rehabilitation and medicine (PRM). The practicing physiotherapists are teaching the students apart from their clinical duties in the hospital. In the absence of classroom and faculty, many students had left the course in between the academic session and joining other courses,” said Dr R Hariharan.

He added that several representations had been given to the authorities highlighting the plight of the students, but nothing has been done so far.

Merger caused a dent to the department

The department of physiotherapy was established in 1966. Till 1987, the department used to operate under the supervision of Medical Superintendent (MS).

In 1987, the department was given independent charge. “Unfortunately, in 2008, the department of physiotherapy was merged with newly created physical rehabilitation and medicine department (PRM),” said Dr R Hariharan.

Prof Mandeep Singh Dhillon, who is also heading the dpartment of orthopaedic, has been made the acting head of the department of physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) since 2009.

“We are being denied the credit that is rightfully ours. We are attending 300 patients each day. But you would not find the names of the physiotherapist on the OPD cards. We have given several representations, but nothing has been done so far,” said Dr R Hariharan.