Medicos suspend stir as MCI team visits RIMS at Ongole

Official allays fears saying all norms for recognition have been met

Reality check: An MCI team inspecting the records at RIMS in Ongole on Tuesday.

The junior doctors at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), who have been agitating for recognition from the Medical Council of India (MCI) for the last three days, have put off their stir as an MCI team visited the campus for inspection.

The three-member team headed by its coordinator Dr. M. Ravindra made a detailed inspection of the facilities at the RIMS, including the library in the medical college, intensive care unit (ICU) and the radiology units.

The team members, including Dr. P. Basavaraju and K.R. Rajkumar, reportedly promised “to do all that is possible”, when a delegation of the Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU) submitted a memorandum to the team to save the students’ future.

Dr K. Babji, Director of Medical Education, (DME Academic), who rushed to RIMS, allayed the fears of the medicos saying the “RIMS will 100% get MCI nod this time with deficiencies pinpointed by an MCI team earlier fully addressed now”. Following this, the junior doctors resumed their duties on Tuesday.

The medical faculty shortage had been brought down to less than 5% as against 10.4% earlier as per the MCI guidelines, Dr. Babji said, adding that all the X-ray machines were fully functioning and the library equipped with 7,000 books as per the MCI norm.

More seats

The State government planned to seek the MCI's nod to increase the number of MBBS seats in the RIMS from 100 to 150 and start P.G. courses here. A CT scan machine was being provided on public private partnership (PPP) mode, he said, adding multi-purpose health workers would be recruited soon in all teaching hospitals on contract basis. He patted the RIMS staff here for keeping it very clean and said it was one of the cleanest hospitals in the State.

He said 142 vacancies of Assistant Professors would be filled by promoting eligible medical officers in the public health centres. “Another 198 doctors will be recruited directly shortly to ensure that there is no shortage of faculty,” he added.

Replying to a question, he said there was scope for starting two more State-run medical colleges in the State.