Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur

Where false data works

B. Chandrashekhar

Medical college goes 'out of the way' to impress the MCI with pseudo teaching staff, doctors, nurses

ANANTAPUR: The Government Hospital and Medical College here has gone into a lull once again. The problems haunting them for the last seven years have not abated. These two institutions were in the thick of activity just about ten days ago. The `abundant' staff `hired' from different medical colleges and hospitals in the district and the State put up the necessary `show of strength' during the visit of the Medical Council of India (MCI). The teaching staff, doctors, nurses and other non-teaching staff who were here as `guests' to `parade' themselves before the MCI team, have left for their respective destinations i.e. places of work. The MCI indicated its satisfaction with the `existing' facilities.

Established in year 2000, the college is a perfect example of how Government negligence could affect an institution in its formative years. It is still struggling to get the MCI recognition after seven years of existence.

The irony of the situation is that 45 students who have already completed internship (house surgeons) ship do not have a `recognised' degree due to lack of MCI recognition to the college for about a year now. The regional office of MCI in Hyderabad had refused to register them as certified doctors. They were also denied opportunity to pursue post-graduate courses.

Till recently, the college had 16 vacancies in 23 professor posts, 8 vacancies of associate professor posts out of 30, 12 vacancies of assistant professors out of 47 and 11 vacancies of tutors out of 57. However, they were `filled' on a makeshift basis by `posting' 83 teachers from Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Guntur and Warangal medical colleges just for MCI visit.

The fact that a teaching hospital has only 350 beds against the mandatory requirement of 500 is shocking.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu