The J&K Minister for Health and Family Welfare deserves kudos for pursuing State Government’s request to the Medical Council of India for increasing the number of Post Graduate seats in the Government Medical Colleges in the State. As a result, the Union Health Ministry has conveyed its agreement to the recommendation of the Medical Council of India that 70 more seats be allowed to the GMCs in the State in Post Graduate class from April 2017. We hail this decision of the Union Government and hope that it will further improve medical services in the State when more qualified doctors and surgeons will be available for induction into the Health Department. According to a Government of India communication, in this regard, 20 seats have been increased in SKIMS, Soura, 37 in Government Medical College Srinagar and only 13 in Government Medical College Jammu, as per technical norms and student-faculty ratio in these institutions. With this addition,the total number of seats in GMC Jammu and GMC Srinagar has gone up to 158 and 148 respectively. In GMC Jammu, three seats have increased each in MS (OBG), MS (ENT) and MS (General Surgery) while two seats have increased each in MD (DVL) and MD (Pediatrics). GMC Jammu could have got more seats had not the then Principal of the College failed to submit the demand for GMC in time as was done by the Principals of other Medical Colleges.
It is good news for the State and for the aspirant medical practitioners in State Health Service. Post Graduate training means updating and streamlining professional competence of the doctors, both physicians and surgeons. This is a step of providing better and more experienced health service to the people of the State. Just increasing the number of seats in MBBS is all right but what is needed in modern times is specialization in respective fields of medical sciences. Adding 70 PG seats is not an ordinary step and should be highly appreciated as beneficial to the State. We understand that the Minister has been able to resolve several other matters with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that were pending for some time. The issues, which figured in the meeting included, release of balance funds under PMDP, reimbursement of non-plan budget under Family Welfare Scheme, expediting formal sanction and release of funds for Medical College, Doda, release of funds for State Cancer Institutes, establishment/upgrading of drug testing laboratories in the State, release of funds for three Tertiary Care Cancer Centres, establishment of Burn Care Unit at GMC, Jammu and establishment of two AIIMS, one each at Kashmir and Jammu
What the people expect from these steps is better treatment and better facilities for the patients in Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals.
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