Archive for month: May, 2024

Lucknow- King George’s Medical University (KGMU) has asked all the faculty and resident doctors in the institute to ensure that their attendance is marked accurately as mandated by the National Medical Commission (NMC).

This comes after the recently held online meeting between KGMU and NMC. KGMU Vice Chancellor Prof. Sonia Nithyananda has issued a circular on this, stating that ”This circular serves as a reminder of the recent online meeting held with the National Medical Commission (NMC), New Delhi, during which it was emphasized that all faculty members and residents of our esteemed University are required to mark their attendance on Aadhar Enabled Biometric Machines”.

Warning against failure, the notice further stated “The NMC has mandated this biometric attendance system for all faculty members and residents. Failure to comply with this mandate may result in adverse actions against the University, including heavy fines, reduction of MBBS/PG/Super Specialty seats and the potential surrender of courses”.

Therefore, while strictly instructing all the faculty members and residents the notice added “It is imperative that all faculty members and residents adhere strictly to this directive and ensure their attendance is marked accurately on the Aadhar Enabled Biometric Machines”.

Last year, NMC reiterated the importance of Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system (AEBAS) for faculty members before inspection to address the menace of ghost faculty in government and private medical colleges.

Medical dialogues had earlier reported about NMC issuing show-cause notices to 100 medical colleges across the country as the faculties in those institutes failed to meet the 75% attendance criteria. All these medical colleges have been given 15 days to reply to the notice, failing which they will face punitive action.

Faculty shortage has remained an obstacle for several medical colleges across the country. To meet the faculty requirements, several medical colleges take help from guest lecturers, even though it is not permitted under the NMC rules.

Meanwhile, the NMC rules specify that undergraduate and postgraduate medical colleges imparting medical education must ensure that their faculties have 75% attendance of the total working days.

Last year, the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) of NMC notified the “Guidelines for Under Graduate Courses under Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses, Increase of Seats for Existing Courses & Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023”, or the UG-MSR-2023 on August 16, 2023 in its official Gazette.

Para 3.1 (i) & (ii) of UG-MSR 2023 specifies that all medical colleges shall install an Aadhaar-Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) to be linked to Command and Control center of NMC and the daily AEBAS of the required staff (faculty, residents and supporting staff), preferably along with face linked recognition, shall be made available to NMC as well as on the Medical College Website in the form of daily attendance dashboard.

Further, these guidelines also specified that it shall be mandatory for medical colleges to have at least 75% of the total working days (excluding vacations) for all faculty and resident doctors.

To view the notice, click the link below

Daltonganj: The Medinirai Medical College Hospital (MMCH), Daltonganj has now come under the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) scanner as the licence of its blood bank expired on September 30, 2020. Directing the institute to renew the licence by July 10, the Apex Medical Education Regulatory Body has warned to slap a Rs 6 Lakh penalty on the institute for non-compliance.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), operative under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, issues this licence through the State unit.

Also Read: Medical Colleges Under Tight Scrutiny of National Medical Commission

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, during its meeting with the MMCH Principal Dr. Kamender Prasad on May 10, NMC stressed the importance of updating the blood bank’s license. Responding to this, Dr. Prasad informed the Commission that the college was pursuing the matter with the drug inspector of Palamu Chandan Kachchap.

Meanwhile, Chandan said the drug inspector for the east zone in Kolkata, Ashutosh Kumar inspected the blood bank on April 3. He added that the delay in renewing the licence for the blood bank since 2020 was due to certain deficiencies, such as the absence of an Eliza machine and a non-functional temperature graph device in the blood bank’s fridge.

Commenting on the matter, a senior official at the blood bank, Anwar Alam informed that an Eliza machine was purchased and two fridges with advanced temperature graph devices have been installed.

NMC scrutiny and action

Recently, taking cognisance of a critical faculty shortage and lack of essential resources, the Commission took strict action against the government medical colleges in Chhattiagarh. NMC slapped a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Kanker Medical College, Rs 4 lakh fine on Durg Medical College, and Rs 3 lakh fine each in the medical colleges located at Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Mahasamund, and Jagdalpur. Along with this, Mahasamund, Kanker, and Raigarh medical colleges have also been served with show-cause notices over the shortage of faculty.

Also Read:NMC crackdown on Chhattisgarh Medical Colleges over faculty shortage, lack of essential resources

In a heartwarming display of medical heroism, an Andhra Pradesh doctor’s quick actions saved the life of a 6-year-old boy who was electrocuted in Ayyappa Nagar, Vijayawada. The boy’s frantic parents were carrying him along the road when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest.

Dr. Ravalika, who happened to be passing by, noticed the distress and immediately sprang into action. Demonstrating remarkable presence of mind, she performed CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) on the boy right there on the road. A video captured the tense moments as Dr. Ravalika continuously thumped the boy’s chest while he lay lifeless, with passersby clearing the road to allow her space to work.

After several attempts, Dr. Ravalika successfully revived the child. After five tense minutes, the boy began breathing again. He was then rushed to a hospital for further treatment and has since made a full recovery.

Chandigarh: The Director General Health Services (DGHS) of Haryana has initiated efforts to repatriate around 20 doctors who have been posted on deputation to the Chandigarh health department for over a decade. 

A significant number of doctors who have exceeded these deputation limits were mentioned in the list provided by DGHS. It includes 6 senior medical officers who have been on deputation for over 14 years and 16 medical officers for over 9 years.

In an official letter, the DGHS has asked the additional chief secretary of health, Haryana, to address this matter with the UT administration. The letter mentioned, “If higher authorities agree, the government may be requested to do the needful for repatriation of those doctors who are staying on deputation for more than five years in Chandigarh administration.”

Also read- How To Appoint HoDs In Central Govt Hospitals, Associated Medical Colleges? Health Ministry Releases New Guidelines

According to the Haryana Civil Services Rules, 2016, the standard duration for deputation from any government position is up to three years. However, this period can be extended to a maximum of five years if deemed necessary for the public interest. However, prior approval of the administrative department and finance department must be obtained well in time, TOI reports. 

Earlier, the Director General of Health Sciences (DGHS) directed all the healthcare workers of Central government hospitals not to wear jewellery below the elbow and restrict the use of mobile phones while on duty in critical areas to safeguard the well-being of both patients and healthcare personnel as reported by Medical Dialogues team. 

Jewellery below the elbow and usage of mobile phones while on duty have been prohibited to prevent the potential spread of infection and minimize infection risks.

In addition, it has been directed to create and implement a policy that limits the usage of cell phones in patient zones and high-risk areas like ICUs, HDUs, post-operative wards, and operation rooms.

Also read- Restrict Mobile Phone Use On Duty, No Jewellery Below Elbow: DGHS Advisory For Healthcare Workers