Will address shortage of specialists in UT
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Sept 9: In yet another major milestone for Health & Medical Education Department in Jammu & Kashmir, Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) and District Hospitals (DHs) of the UT have succeeded in getting 17 more DNB (Diplomate of National Board) seats and 22 Diploma seats.
Official sources told Excelsior that National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has approved 39 more seats for Government Medical Colleges and District Hospitals of J&K. “Out of the 39 sanctioned seats, 17 seats are post MBBS DNB and 22 post MBBS Diploma,” they said, adding, with this, the total PG seats approval for J&K has gone upto 124 (102 DNB and 22 Diploma) and this is over and above the DM/MCH and MD/MS courses already being run in J&K.
According to the sources, District Hospital Kulgam has got accreditation in General Medicine and has been granted 2 seats for Diplomate of National Board (DNB) by National Board of Examination and has become 3rd District Hospital to start DNB Courses. With this, sources said, the total seats granted for District Hospitals of J&K are 10. It is pertinent to mention here that earlier District Hospital (DH) Gandhi Nagar had got 6 seats in Anesthesia and Medicine and DH JLNM Srinagar had got 2 seats in Medicine.
Yasin Choudhary, Mission Director (MD), NHM, J&K while giving details about the development said that under DNB programme in UT, a total of 144 applications were submitted by various health institutions out of which 53 applications are approved till date against which 124 seats have been granted to the accredited departments consequent to the concerted efforts and hard work of the Health & Medical Education Department J&K, NHM J&K and the team of health institutions being monitored by Vivek Bhardwaj, Additional Chief Secretary of the Department.
Choudhary informed that new GMCs have received the total approval of 33 seats (11 DNB and 22 Diploma seats). He said while GMC Baramulla has received the sanction of 5 post MBBS DNB seats in General Medicine and 22 post MBBS Diploma seats in the specialties of Family Medicine (4 seats), Anaesthesia (4 seats), Pediatrics (4 seats), Obs & Gynae (4 seats), ENT (3 seats) and Ophthalmology (3 seats), GMC Anantnag has received approval of 2 seats in General Surgery, GMC Kathua received approval of 2 seats in DNB Anatomy and GMC Rajouri received approval of 2 seats in DNB General Medicine.
With this, he said, the total seats approved for new GMCs till date becomes 59 (37 DNB seats and 22 Diploma seats). “Additionally, GMC Srinagar has been granted 2 seats in Doctorate of National Board (DrNB) Critical Care Medicine and GMC Jammu has been granted 2 seats in DrNB Neurology,” the MD NHM added. He further informed that 35 more departments of DHs/GMCs have been assessed by NBE and their accreditation is awaited.
He said that the DNB courses have been introduced in the District Hospitals and new Government Medical Colleges besides old GMCs and SKIMS in order to strengthen the institutions, decongest the Government Medical Colleges and to address the shortage of specialists in the UT of J&K.
Choudhary said that the DNB courses are expected to drastically improve the health care services in the far flung districts and improve the services in the tertiary care institutions as well. This is also expected to markedly bring down the referral from the far flung districts to the already overburdened tertiary care institutes of the UT of J&K, he added.
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