Start Indian medical services, IMA tells PM

The Indian Medical Association has urged the central government to accept the demand for introducing Indian Medical Services on the lines of other all-India services.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the IMA said Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the need for a central medical services cadre. “There is a sense of helplessness with divergent directives being issued in different districts of various states. The medical profession has to handle medicare institutions and streams considering the uniqueness and various complexities involved,” the IMA said in its letter dated June 21. IMA national president Dr Rajan Sharma said that the organisation also submitted a 38-page report on the proposed Indian Medical Services. India had such a service during the British rule but it was done away with post-Independence.

“An all-India medical service will be able to serve the needs of the people better, as it will be staffed by medical professionals who understand the ground realities and the complexities involved in healthcare. This will ultimately result in better health services to people across the country,” he said. In its report, the IMA said healthcare delivery systems in India are plagued by “abysmal lack of professionalism in healthcare administration. There is lack of professionalism in management among clinician-turned-administrators as well. This chink has totally revealed itself in all its manifestations in all aspects of managing the Covid-19 pandemic.”

This tragic situation is sufficient indicator and also “an eye opener for all powers that be to realise that a separate administrative cadre is the core for administering and managing healthcare services, including public health, in the country,” the report said.