Faculty Crunch: Ernakulam Medical College dismisses allegations

According to the daily, the services that the medical courses offered at the medical college were severely affected due to the lack of workforce. The scarcity of doctors can be a little alarming, especially considering a new block will be soon set up at the Ernakulam Medical College hospital premises.

As a normal administrative process, doctors often retire and it happens in every medical college. In response to charges that the number of doctors required for approval of the MBBS program was also vacant, Dr Ganesh Mohan, superintendent of the medical college, said the vacancies are filled according to government procedures, reports The Hindu.

Dr Sanil Kumar, in a letter to the health minister, stated that as per the Indian Medical Council, the number of the faculty members required for starting a course was lying vacant and that several doctors were about to retire. These shortcomings may result in the medical college's postgraduate courses being de-recognized.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that Health Minister Veena George has announced that a new block will be soon set up at the Ernakulam Medical College hospital premises. The project will cost Rs 100 crore to establish the new building. She also said that lab equipment will also be provided within two years in all panchayats and steps are being taken for the necessary action. The announcements were made public when Minister George was giving a speech at one of the inaugurations of healthcare facilities in the district.