The Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC) has urged the State government not to permit any more private medical colleges in the State. Instead, it wants the government to upgrade the quality of existing government hospitals and manpower — doctors and paramedical personnel.
The reason for this demand, TNMC’s vice president R.V.S. Surendran said, is that the State has adequate number of doctors, and better doctor-patient ratio than what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended. He blamed the proliferation of private medical colleges to be the reason for commercialisation of the health sector, education, problems in NEET and escalating costs.
“WHO has recommended a doctor-patient ratio of 1:1,000. This is high in TN which has a ratio of 1.6:1,000. There should be no more private medical colleges. The government should not grant permission for private institutions. Instead, the quality of existing government hospitals starting with primary health centres, taluk and district headquarters hospitals should be improved on par with tertiary care centres, that is government medical college hospitals,” he said.
TNMC, in its general business meeting held in September, passed a resolution to this effect and submitted it to the State government. “Already, our health budget of 1.2% is scarce. It need not be wasted on more number of medical colleges as already nearly 10,000 doctors are unemployed or under-employed. What needs to be concentrated on is quality and not the number,” he said.
Explaining further, he said that every year, 8,500 medical graduates pass from colleges in the State. TNMC estimates that there are 1.15 lakh doctors in the State.
“In another 10 years, the population will increase by 40 to 50%. In 10 years, the number of doctors will increase to more than two lakh considering the present number of seats. Then, we will have a ratio of 2 to 2.2: 1,000. Such a ratio exists in the US but their health infrastructure is ahead such as in accident care, universal health coverage and helicopter services. We still do not have such things in our country,” he explained.
Policy makers should focus on quality upgradation of existing infrastructure and manpower, he added.
