SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Jan 9: A team from National Medical Commission (NMC) today began an assessment of Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital (SNMMCH) Dhanbad for permission of 100 MBBS seats .
The Assessors of NMC are Prof ( Dr) PK Dubey, Prof (Dr) Jitram Kesri (both Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science Sheikhpura Patna) and Prof Dr Pranita Dafadar of Burdwan Medical College ( Bengal)
SNMMCH principal Dr Jyotiranjan Prasad said that a three-member team of NMC has arrived for inspection of the institution. On the basis of their assessment report, SNMMCH would be given 100 MBBS seats permission from the academic session of 2023-24.
“I am hopeful to get 100 MBBS seats granted in the 2023 session after today’s inspection as the institution had already fulfilled all deficiencies in the 2022 session pointed out by the previous NMC team. The maximum hurdles that were in getting 100 seats in MBBS have been removed. So this time we are confident of getting permission, ” said principal Dr Prasad.
However, the principal admitted that a deficiency of faculty members and a 150-seat lecture theater still existed.
“Tenders have already been issued for lecture theater and it would not be a hurdle,” he added.
At present, state government-owned SNMMCH has only 50 MBBS seats permission while four other medical colleges MGMMCH, Jamshedpur, PJMCH Dumka, MMCH Palaum and SBMCH Hazaribagh have 100 MBBS seats permission.
The then Medical Council of India (MCI) had given the then Patliputra Medical College Hospital, Dhanbad (now SNMMCH) 100 MBBS seats permission in 2013 along with Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) Jamshedpur .
However, due to shortage of faculty members in different departments and lack of infrastructure MCI reduced 50 MBBS seats of PMCH Dhanbad in 2017.
Interestingly, three new medical colleges of state government Dumka, Hazaribagh and Palamu opened in 2019 have 100 MBBS seats.
Today, an NMC team reached the medical college at 8 am. Getting information from the principal and other senior faculty members immediately reached the institution. The team clubbed in two groups. One group began an inspection of the hospital while another non-clinical department of college.
Besides wards, OTs and emergencies, the team checked per day attendance of OPD patients, and the register of doctors’ attendance took details of HoD of different clinical departments.
