State government to fill vacant posts at Rajindra hospital soon

Gagan K. Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, July 1

In order to facilitate needy patients who are unable to get treatment following shortage of specialists at the Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, the Punjab government is all set to fill all vacant posts of the hospital shortly.

Moreover, the government has also sought detailed proposals from the government institutions about their demands.

Presiding over a seminar on the occasion of International Doctors’ Day at Government Medical College today, Medical Education Minister Brahm Mohindra said the previous SAD-BJP government had literally ruined the once prestigious medical institution of the North and brought it to its knees. While the SAD-BJP government went on to purchase machinery worthy crores for the institution that could not be put to use, they did not pay any need to the basic needs.

Notably, as per the recent report of the Medical Council of India that was released a few months ago, the vacancy position in the institute was 16.4 per cent. However, sources informed that the vacancy percentage of vacant posts, including those of professors, associate professors, assistant professors, senior residents and other technical and Class IV staff, had now crossed 35 per cent.

Following this vacancy position, the medical college authorities have been warned against the cancellation of 50 MBBS seats. The college had been running with 150 MBBS seats since 1969, which were increased to 200 in 2014 with a condition that there would be annual inspection to see whether the college was capable to accommodate the increased strength and provide them best facilities.

In the very first inspection in April 2015, the MCI recommended cancellation of these 50 seats due to various anomalies, mainly 13 per cent faculty shortage, but the college authorities later pleaded their case and the college was allowed to continue with the increased seats.

However, the Medical Education Department did not learn any lesson from its previous mistakes and faculty position has gone from bad to worse in one year.

The authorities claimed that they tried to fulfil the vacant posts, but did not succeed due to multiple reasons, including non-availability of competent doctors, delay in DPCs and some legal hitches. The situation is such that the faculty shortage had reached 16.4 per cent last year, which has now reached about 35 per cent.

However, Brahm Mohindra assured that the Congress government has taken up the task of restoring the glory of this prestigious institution.

He said the state government had allocated Rs 100 crore for the Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital in its first budget, which will be used to give a complete facelift to the institute. The state department will soon be issuing Rs 20 crore to the hospital and also provide financial assistance to trauma centres on its premises.

The Secretary, Medical Education Department, Vikas Pratap, urged the doctors to come forward to help poor patients. He said the state government was committed to look into the welfare of patients as well as doctors.