BHUBANESWAR: Even as the government is struggling to get qualified doctors to man its health centres, 10 organisations that were accorded NOC to offer MBBS course have failed to make any headway.

These organisations have proposed to set up medical colleges with a combined intake of 1,050 in different towns.

MCI norm

In a written reply to a query, State Health and Family Welfare Minister Duryodhan Majhi on Friday informed the House that according to the conditions of the Medical Council of India, one should be managing a 300-bed hospital before setting up a 100-seat college.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry did not give permission to the organisations as they had failed to fulfil the norm and other conditions."

Hi-tech Medical College was the only private institution that was running a 100-seat course in Bhubaneswar since 2005-2006, he said.

Of the 10 proposed medical institutes, four were to be located near Bhubaneswar and the rest in Ganjam, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Koraput, Puri and Balasore districts. Many of the proposals were five to 10 years old. At present, the State has three colleges in Cuttack, Berhampur and Burla. Mr. Majhi, however, admitted that there were no proposals to open branches in any district headquarters.

The government had recently declared that Bhubaneswar-based Capital Hospital would be converted into a full-fledged medical college but it was yet to seek Medical Council of India's permission.

Despite the fact that population was growing along with medical needs, the government was able to add only one hospital in the past eight years.

Doctor-patient ratio

The government admitted that doctors were overburdened. In 2005-2006, while outdoor patients were 2.5 crores indoor patients were 26.16 lakhs. As per the sanctioned strength, one doctor should attend to 4,220 patients per annum and 6,638 if the average patient-doctor ratio of both outdoor and indoor were taken into consideration.

"Due to vacancy, the number of doctors attending to patients in both rural and urban areas, excluding medical colleges, are 3,472. At present, the patient-doctor ratio, including indoor and outdoor, is 8,068 per annum on an average," Mr. Majhi said.

Doctors' scarcity came to such a pass that vacant posts of assistant surgeon were being filled with retired doctors. "The vacant specialist posts are being filled by declaring PG qualified doctors as specialists. Similarly, junior class-1 and senior class-1 posts are being filled through promotions," the Minister said.

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