THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The medicos in the state have cautioned against the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) recommendation that private medical colleges need not have their own hospitals but can use nearby government-run hospitals and health care facilities. Stating that it was a dilution of the existing standards, they said that it would only lead to mushrooming of private medical colleges, which take huge amounts as capitation fee.
Noting that the MCI should have done a statewide medical manpower assessment before coming up with such recommendations, they said that such a system would not be advantageous to states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, where there are already good institutions and sufficient manpower.
Noting that manipulation chances were high if private medical colleges are allowed to function without having their own hospitals, IMA state president Dr A V Jayakrishnan said that in states like Kerala, it was not advantageous as there are already good institutions and sufficient medical manpower.
An MCI panel led by Dr Vedprakash Mishra, while recommending the above, had said that this would save lot of public expenditure on government hospitals and simultaneously provide a readymade hospital infrastructure to new private medical colleges.
Noting that this mechanism, on a temporary basis, could be good in states where there was shortage of medical graduates, Jayakrishnan said that it would have far-reaching consequences in the long run. “As a temporary solution, it can be implemented in states where there is shortage of doctors. But it cannot be implemented where there are enough doctors. And, if implemented, there could be manipulation of the system,’’ he said.
Most of the doctors allege that the MCI was only trying to help medical college lobbies by giving them readymade hospital infrastructure and allowing them to collect huge amounts. They said that private institutions, which collect huge amounts as donations and capitation fee, would get their students graduated at the expense of public money.
Meanwhile, Travancore Cochin Medical Council member Dr Sreejith N Kumar said that medical education should be need-based. “In states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, there is shortage of doctors. Here, the MCI recommendation can help in bringing out more graduates,’’ he said. However, he stated that it was dilution of the existing standards.
He also maintained that the recommendations would not be advantageous to states where there is surplus of doctors. ‘’In states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, such a facility would be of no use but only lead to many irregularities,’’ he said.
IMA former national president Dr Marthanda Pillai was also of the opinion that it was not practical in states like Kerala, where there are already sufficient doctors and enough medical colleges. In other states, where there is a shortage of doctors, the new system could be implemented on a temporary basis in a phased manner. However, he opined that public money is being spent for private individuals or institutions, which could have only far-reaching consequences.