Senior faculties of State's medical colleges seek VRS

Heavy wokload, politics & lobbying believed to be major reasons behind exodus

BY OUR STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI, Oct 9: At a time when the Assam government is setting up several medical colleges, senior faculties of the existing institutions are preparing to retire early, thereby raising the prospect of crippling lack teachers to train future generations of doctors in the State.

Sources told The Sentinel that several experienced doctors at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), Dibrugarh, and Tezpur Medical College and Hospital have applied to the State government to allow them to avail of voluntary retirement scheme (VRS). The applicants include professors and heads of departments in the medical colleges.

 Some doctors, including Illias Ali, the Head of Emergency Medicine at GMCH, B.D. Goswami, Head of Gastroenterology department at GMCH, Ashok Kayal, Head of Neurology department at GMCH, N.P. Das, Professor of Medicine at Tezpur Medical College & Hospital and dozen others, have applied for VRS. Dr Ratul Deka, Superintendent of Tezpur Medical College & Hospital has already availed of VRS.

While terming it an alarming development for the public health system in the State, sources said a slew of measures adopted by the Assam government to improve the health scerio have not succeeded in preventing what could be the beginning of a massive exodus from the State’s medical colleges.

According to sources, even though most of the VRS applicants have officially cited health and persol reasons for their decisions to quit government posts, there are other causes that have forced senior faculties of medical colleges to retire early.

“Heavy work pressure amidst poor medical facilities, politics and lobbying in the State Health department are some of the major reasons behind some senior doctors deciding to retire early,” a source said.

While sources in the Health department said most of the doctors who have applied for VRS are not interested in serving poor patients at government hospitals as they are more busy in private practice or running private hospitals, present and former senior faculties of medical colleges said if the exodus is not prevented, it will be a big blow to the fields of teaching and research in medical science in the State. 

“Assam has now six medical colleges and new medical colleges are coming up in Dhubri, Lakhimpur, gaon and Diphu. But the biggest concern is idequate number of faculty members. It is not possible to open post graduate courses in the new colleges due to lack of adequate faculty members as recommended by the MCI. Treating patients at government hospitals can be maged even by young doctors. But it needs years of experience to become a good teacher,” a retired Principal of GMCH said, adding that the crucial question is who will teach and groom future generation of doctors in the State.