Medical varsity’s lofty plans in limbo
12 new depts of KGMU conceptualised a year ago are yet to start specialised courses and admit postgraduate students, despite funds being pumped in
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The university has recently been allocated funds in the state budget and soon work will begin in these departments DR SANTOSH KUMAR, spokesperson, KGMU
LUCKNOW : About 12 new departments in the King George’s Medical University which were conceptualised a year ago are yet to start specialised courses and admit postgraduate students, the purpose for which they were planned. Some of them even got grants from the central and state governments but the money has not been used till now.
The departments include child and adolescent psychiatry medical education, radiation physics, transplant anaesthesia, paediatric neurology, reproductive medicine and medical genetics. The proposals made by the university were sanctioned by the medical education department but the work of starting courses and admitting PG students who could be trained to become specialized doctors has not even started as yet.
Terming this delay as a significant loss for society both in terms of waste of manpower and money, additional commissioner, commercial tax (retd) Bharat Singh said, “A lot of money is pumped into the medical and health sector which is justified keeping in view the need of the people. At any hospital you find a long queue of patients. If such delay in starting specialised courses is avoided,
the society can get more doctors every year and queues at hospitals can be reduced.”
“Medical institutions are primarily run to shape doctors who go out and serve society. With slow pace of work, it is the society which suffers in the end,” said Singh. However, the KGMU authorities say the wait would ne
over soon. “The university has recently been allocated funds in the state budget and soon work will begin in these departments,” said Dr Santosh Kumar, spokesperson, KGMU. To note, the department of geriatric medicine got a grant of ₹3 crore and place for it was identified on the geriatric mental health department campus, but the construction of the building is yet to start, even after two years.
Similarly, the department of sports medicine was supposed to get ₹12.5 crore in five years of which ₹78 lakh were received to start the department along with ₹20 lakh for library and ₹20 lakh for computers and staff salary. This department is among the five places selected in the country by the central government to start the facility specifically for sportspersons. Its OPD is running at the centenary hospital complex but requires 30 beds to get Medical Council of India inspection done successfully and start course.
The department of paediatric orthopaedic also started OPD but lacked admission. Hence the inspection by the team of Medical Council of India was not done, which is mandatory to get permission to start courses and admit students.