IMA welcomes Parliamentary Committee's recommendation for Setting Up Separate Indian Medical Services Cadre

In a recent press release, IMA stated, " IMS can well be defined as the positive yield of the dreaded pandemic in a real sense. The earliest due acceptance by the government and the right propagation ahead in the execution phase of the decision shall be awaited by us."

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that keeping in mind the incredible role of Corona warriors during combating the vicissitude of coronavirus, the Committee in its report opined that the present moment holds the golden opportunity to explore the possibility of organizing Indian medical services in order to create a specialized task force for implementation of the flagship program relating to health.

Following the committee's opinion, IMA has now welcomed the decision. IMA has informed that following the initiatives of IMA, a Study Group was constituted by the then President Medical Council of India under the Chairmanship of Dr Vedprakash Mishra the then Chairman of the Academic Council of the Medical Council of India in regard to making analytical recommendations with respect to the rejuvenation of 'Indian Medical Services', and the detailed report of the Study Group thereto was forwarded to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

The Study Group constituted by the then President of Medical Council of India (MCI) in the year 2017 amongst other things in their detailed report had also brought out in chronology the course and nature of events that are a matter of record in the annals of the Government of India in regard to the creation of 'Indian Medical Service' for the purposes of conforming to the desired need of urgent galvanization of the healthcare system in the country.

Indian Medical Association in its report had brought out analytically the historical aspect of the Indian Medical Services in all its relevant details as well as had narrated the foundation details of the services.

IMA stated, " While the healthcare system has been going through tragic mode as far as supportive progress is concerned, this long-standing tragic anomaly with the latest dreaded pandemic on its own turns out to be a huge and sufficient indicator and also an eye-opener for all the powers to realize that a separate administrative cadre is the core must for administering and managing the healthcare services including public health in the country so as to meaningfully invoke a purposive, balanced, updated and an optimally functioning healthcare delivery system capable of delivering the targeted services enriched by quality conforming to the trinity of the core principles of "Accessibility, Availability and Affordability" in unison."

" Indian Medical Association again puts it on record that the IMS will provide the healthcare of our country with due attention & much awaited deserving space on national diaspora with much-needed professionalism in the healthcare policymaking & implementation of programs. It would serve as a strong catalytic agent for the realization of the core guarantee of the Right to Health to all the citizens guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and also the universal goal of health equitably and affordably," stated the press release.

IMA approached the health ministry to take necessary steps to formulate the plan of action with a time frame and get it approved by different states and bring out an ordinance or law at once to bring this into force in this pandemic itself.