Dr. Dharmakanta Kumbhakar
(The writer can be reached at drkdharmakanta@yahoo.com)
It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction for the people of west Assam that the Honourable President of India Droupadi Murmu formally inaugurated and dedicated the Dhubri Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on virtual mode from Guwahati to the people of India on October 13, 2022. Though DMCH was formally inaugurated on October 13, 2022, the outpatient services were started on June 1, 2022, and the indoor services, as well as operation services by the faculties of DMCH, were started in July 2022 at the erstwhile Dhubri Civil Hospital.
DMCH is the 9th government medical College and Hospital in Assam, located on RK Mission Road, Jhagrarpar, Dhubri which is approximately 290 km away from Guwahati. Jhagrarpar, Dhubri will turn into a spot of attention because of DMCH from now onwards. Moreover, DMCH will now usher in economic development in Dhubri and surrounding areas and will provide employment opportunities to the local people as well.
The need for a medical college and hospital at Dhubri was a long-standing issue for the State government. The issue got momentum when the State Government decided to establish a medical college at Dhubri on the Dhubri Civil Hospital campus under the centrally-sponsored scheme "Establishment of new Medical Colleges attached with existing district referral Hospital" in 2014. Bhumi Pujan and foundation stone-laying ceremony of the DMCH were done by the then Union Health Minister JP Nadda in the presence of the then Chief Minister of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 17, 2017, in an area of approximately 108 bighas.
Construction of buildings and other ancillary facilities progressed during the next five years and was completed at the beginning of the current year when faculty members of DMCH were recruited. Other staff members will be appointed gradually. It is a challenging task to convert the concrete buildings into a medical college which is a temple of medical education and a caring home for the ailing community.
The toughest test for the DMCH was the National Medical Commission (NMC) inspection and permission. The NMC conducted the first inspection of DMCH on March 22 and 23, 2022 and another subsequent inspection on August 5, 2022. On the recommendation of NMC, the Government of India has permitted DMCH to admit 100 students in the MBBS course for the session 2022-23. The college is affiliated with the Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences, Assam. The Directorate of Medical Education, Assam will select 100 students for admission in the MBBS course at DMCH for the session 2022-23 and after admission of the first batch, a formal academic session will start in the college from November 2022 to produce medical graduates as per NMC mandate. Now onwards, DMCH will help students from Assam to get an MBBS degree at their convenience with 100 seats every year. It is hoped that after a few years, DMCH will convert into a postgraduate medical institution and will produce specialist doctors. The college anthem and the logo of DMCH are yet to be decided upon by the authority. Prompt action is needed in this regard.
Excellence in education, research and patient care is the motto of DMCH. Its teaching staff and administrators will dedicate their services to the overall growth and development of this institution though they will face many problems at the fledgling stage. Some major problems that the faculties will face at DMCH are a shortage of accommodation for faculties and doctors, guest houses, safe drinking water, auditorium, recreation facilities, utility building, examination hall complex and playground. As is the case with all new medical colleges, DMCH too will face the problem of a lack of sufficient faculty and infrastructure. It is seen that most of the faculties of medical colleges of Assam have opted either for voluntary retirement or resignation. To stop this, the government must adopt some policies for the faculties like fair and transparent transfer policy, higher salaries, better accommodation, etc. One hopes the government will take the necessary steps in this regard as many more medical colleges are coming up in different districts of Assam and are at various stages of development. Moreover, there is a need to attract fresh minds to medical teaching by offering attractive facilities which will give a great boost to medical teaching in the coming days. Still, the available faculties of DMCH with limited infrastructure will try to provide the best education as well as the environment in the field of sports, literature and cultural activities to the students and the best healthcare services to the patients.
The hospital section of DMCH will provide quality healthcare services to the people of several districts of west Assam and parts of West Bengal with modern healthcare facilities. It consists of a 500-bed hospital building with modern equipment, ICU, NICU, operation theatres, emergency operation theatres, emergency complex with a triage area, observation ward, laboratory, blood bank, 128-slice CT scan machine, mortuary, etc. But, there is no MRI machine and adequate paying cabin complex. These have to be sorted out.
DMCH will go through some teething troubles as it is a new institution. For example, there will be an acute scarcity of resident doctors. Resident doctors are the backbone of a medical college and hospital. This problem will be solved partly after four-and-a-half years when the first batch of DMCians will be passed out and the issue will be permanently solved after the postgraduate courses start in the clinical subjects at DMCH.
At present, the average daily patient attendance in the outpatient department of DMCH is 750-800. Once indoor services are started, the number of patients will increase day by day. With the increasing flow of patients to the hospital, the need for some super speciality services like cardiology, nephrology, neurology and neurosurgery will arise. As DMCH is situated close to the national highway and far away from Guwahati, the establishment of a trauma centre (at DMCH) would be ideal in future. For all these additional facilities at DMCH, the government must provide manpower, additional space, infrastructure, equipment and more funds in future. With time and necessary financial help from the government, DMCH can become one of the best medical colleges in the State to fulfil the healthcare needs of the people of western Assam. It is hoped that the people in west Assam will see the development of infrastructure both in medical education as well as in healthcare facilities in DMCH in future. No doubt, DMCH will be unique on its own in future.