SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 12: The health department has called off the crucial monthly review meeting of all five medical colleges of the state scheduled in Ranchi today.
Official sources of the state health department said that the principal and superintendent of all the five medical colleges–MGMMCH Jamshedpur, SNMMCH Dhanbad, SBMCH Hazaribagh, PJMCH Dumka and MRMCH Palamu– were sent messages in this regard on the evening of Thursday.
Dr SK Singh, director of medical education of the state health department when contacted admitted that Friday’s scheduled meeting with principals and superintendents has been cancelled. Though Dr Singh did not say the reason for the last-minute cancellation of this important review meeting, sources said additional chief secretary (ACS) Health Arun Kumar Singh’s meeting with the Chief Minister has led to the cancellation of it.
Since January 2023, no monthly review meeting of all five medical colleges has been held in the last four months so far.
At the review meeting, ACS Health assesses the situation, problems and performance of all five medical colleges. Sometimes he also directs to implement the pending projects on a priority basis and solves the problems that appear before the institution.
Today’s review meeting was considered crucial for Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Hospital (SNMMCH) Dhanbad which has been given conditional permission for 100 MBBS seats from the 2024-25 academic session by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
Besides it, three newly set up institutions Phulo Jhano Medical College Hospital (PJMCH) Dumka, Sheikh Bhikhari Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) Hazaribagh and Medinirai Medical College Hospital (MMCH) Palamu as well as SNMMCH Dhanbad are reeling under acute shortage of faculty members and have also given an undertaking to NMC for plugging the deficiencies.
The undertaking deadline of all four medical colleges has been crossed but deficiencies have not been patched up so far.
Several faculties in all four medical colleges are without professors. SNMMCH Dhanbad, which has regained 100 MBBS seats after six years, is likely to get PG course seat permission from the NMC from the 2024 session if its faculty deficiency is in compliance.
At today’s review meeting, it was expected that ACS Health would assess the preparations of all five medical colleges for bailing out from this crisis. But cancellation poured water on their hope.
