Stop MD Emergency Medicine course running sans MCI nod: HC orders 3 Top Bengal Hospitals

The MCI and the West Bengal Government submitted that the three hospitals are not having the necessary approval to run the MD Emergency Medicine course.

Kolkata: Taking a strong stand against the running the PG medical courses not recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI), the Calcutta High Court has now directed the state to pin down the MD Emergency Medicine courses which are being offered by 3 private hospitals in West Bengal without the approval of the apex Medical Council of India (MCI) or the Centre.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about the issue of unrecognized PG degrees where the Tamil Nadu Medical Council had decided to cancel the license of around 37 Emergency Medicine specialists.

Read Also: Tamil Nadu: Medical Council moves to cancel degrees of 37 Emergency medicine Specialists

In the recent case reported from West Bengal, the court passed the orders in response to a PIL filed an NGO, Human Protection and Awareness Organization which maintained that the 3 hospitals, Medica Superspecialty Hospital, Peerless Hospital and Durgapur Mission Hospital offered MD Emergency Medicine course without having the nod of either apex authorities which is compulsory to run any medical course at an institution.

Observing the claims made by the NGO, the HC ordered state and MCI to file a report on the matter. Subsequently, the MCI and the West Bengal Government submitted that these hospitals are not having the necessary approval to run the course.

After these submissions, the hospitals justified their side before the bench.

The officials from Medica Hospital claimed that the course was being run in collaboration with a reputable foreign university and was discontinued a year ago.

"We had launched an MD course in emergency medicine in collaboration with George Washington University, USA, in 2017. It did not have an approval, though we had asked for it. We have discontinued the course last year," said Medica CEO Alok Ray informed TOI.

Meanwhile, Peerless Hospital pointed out to the court that their course was more like a training programme. The hospital said that it would enter a legal battle to seek recognition for the course and continue it.

"We had never claimed that it was a conventional MD course. We had started it several years ago to help young doctors prepare better to deal in emergency medicine and care. Many have benefited from the course," said Chief Executive Officer Sudipta Mitra.

However, the bench considered the submission made by the state and expressed its surprise over the fact that the courses were being held without the required permission by the MCI or the central government.

Read Also: Unrecognized MRCEM: Delhi HC denies relief to Doctor whose Additional Emergency Medicine qualification cancelled by MCI

The high court division bench of Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee; then directed the state government to take steps to stop MD courses being run at the three private hospitals, reports TOI.