PMC president Clarifies 'ignorant' minister's claim on ghost faculty
Author(s): City Air NewsLudhiana, August 29, 2015: The Punjab Medical Council president Dr GS Grewal today confronted the Medical Education Minister Anil Joshi's claims of being ignorant of the issue of ghost faculty with facts and evidence. ...
cityairnews
Aug 29, 2015 12:30
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Ludhiana, August 29, 2015: The Punjab Medical Council president Dr GS Grewal today confronted the Medical Education Minister Anil Joshi's claims of being ignorant of the issue of ghost faculty with facts and evidence.
Responding to the statement by Mr. Joshi in a section of the electronic and print media regarding ghost faculty and doctors taking cuts and commissions, Grewal said that the medical education minister must have been updated by his department regarding the circular sent by MCI with the definition of ghost faculty in February 2015.
"It is rather unfortunate that the minister is feigning ignorance about this when the MCI circular is already on record of his department for the last 6 months and also has been extensively covered by the media", he said, while pointing out, therefore medical education minister’s statement is factually incorrect that he is ignorant about the meaning of ghost faculty.
He disclosed that as a mark of respect he had sought appointment with the minister but he never gave him (the PMC President) a hearing while he has met ghost faculty and doctors taking cuts and commission.
Grewal said, there has been a probe conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation in private medical college in Puducherrey, where ghost faculty members registered in Punjab have been found staying in a hotel during the MCI inspection and prosecuted.
He further added, the MCI during the chairmanship of Dr KK Talwar and State Medical Councils in other states have already taken stringent measures including temporary suspension of the registration of the ghost teachers.
In other cases, Grewal said, Enforcement Directorate is probing allegations against doctor’s regarding Pharmaceutical cuts and commissions, which violate the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations.
On the other allegation of the minister that the PMC is running a “parallel government”, Grewal said, . it is again very unfortunate that the medical education Minister is not conversant that PMC is created by the government, but governed by an independent statutory Act.
He added “After my taking over as President each and every decision of PMC has been done according the statutory rules and regulations of this Act.” He also emphasized “We know our Laxman rekha and don’t cross it under any coercion also”
He said, the PMC has not raided the premises of any doctor as claimed by the Minister in the media. He said, one doctor was served repeated show cause notices on the basis of cuts and commission for which he was asked to explain his position and tried to browbeat the statutory body mandated to ensure professional, ethical and technical standards in the practice of medicine by doctors registered in Punjab.
Thereafter, under Section 8.5 of Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations till the pendency of the proceedings against the doctor, the Executive committee decided to temporarily suspend his medical registration, the PMC president said.
Grewal made it categorically clear that the PMC as a statutory body is thoroughly committed to make the treatment affordable without affecting the genuine rights of the doctors which can easily be achieved by removing the cuts and commissions.
He said, just by removing cuts and commissions the cost of treatment can be reduced substantially as it will reduce the out of pocket expenditure of the patients.
He said, PMC is legally duty bound to control the menace of ghost faculty members, which has grave implications undermining the foundations of medical education and competence of future doctors supposedly being “trained” under them in India as one can imagine the quality of doctors being produced in these so called medical colleges.
"May I ask why Hon’ble Minister is sitting on file to have Superspecialities departments in Government Colleges for last two and half years?" he asked, while pointing out, this forces patients to keep on going to private hospitals where even the upper middle classes cannot afford the treatment leave aside the poor and the needy.
Date:
Saturday, August 29, 2015
