Doctors’ bodies demand better facilities and more faculty in medical colleges

National Medical Commission urged to streamline pay bands and work profile of doctors

Doctors’ associations have urged the State government to rectify the deficiencies in government medical colleges and improve faculty strength ahead of admission season.

Medical education in government colleges is heavily subsidised and could hurt candidates who apply to these institutions if action is not taken immediately, they have pointed out. 

There are sufficient number of doctors in medical colleges, but apathy in conducting counselling and promoting doctors at the appropriate time had resulted in 450 vacancies for professors and 550 for associate professors, said G.R. Ravindranath, general secretary of the Doctor’s Association for Social Equality.

Representatives of the Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association and Tamil Nadu Dental Students Associations also participated in the press meet held on Monday. The Service Doctors and Postgraduates’ Association held an emergency meeting and demanded that the National Medical Commission, which is invested in streamlining medical education, should also ensure uniformity in medical faculties’ pay scales and work profile across the country.

The SDPGA pointed out that former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had increased the number of posts in medical colleges as per the number of patients in government hospitals in 2009, with a mandate that the requirement be revisited every five years.

Though the number of medical colleges and hospitals had increased since then, the audit was not conducted in 2017 or 2022, resulting in insufficient faculty strength, said A. Ramalingam, general secretary.