Faculty shortage hampers operationalisation of Tura Medical College

Shillong: A shortage of teaching faculty has emerged as a major challenge to the operationalisation of Tura Medical College, with only 37 faculty members so far mapped against the 97 required by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for an annual intake of 50 MBBS students.

The issue was reviewed by Health and Family Welfare Commissioner and Secretary Dr Joram Beda on Wednesday, during a meeting with senior officials assessing the availability of manpower and infrastructure for the proposed Government Medical College.

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According to the Hub News, the department said it had made sustained efforts for more than a year to address the shortage, including identifying willing and qualified in-service doctors, issuing three rounds of advertisements, and holding consultations with doctors in Tura to address the shortage of specialists.

During the review, the department recommended completing and commissioning the 150-bed and 80-bed blocks currently under construction at the Tura Civil Hospital campus for patient care.

The move is aimed at ensuring that the ongoing infrastructure development benefits people in the Garo Hills region without having to wait for the medical college to become fully operational.

The new facilities are also expected to increase the bed capacity of Tura Civil Hospital, which is proposed to serve as the teaching hospital for the medical college.

The review meeting was attended by Dr Rezina Ch. Marak, MCS, Joint Secretary, Health & Family Welfare Department and Chairperson of the Manpower Assessment Committee. Also present were the Director of Health Services (MI), Director of Health Services (MCH & FW), Director of Health Services (MER), Medical Superintendent of Tura Civil Hospital, Medical Superintendent of Tura MCH Hospital and the District Tuberculosis Officer of TB Hospital, Tura, who are members of the committee, reports Meghalaya Daily.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that Meghalaya is facing a significant shortage of specialist doctors, with 139 sanctioned positions lying vacant even as the state government continues to expand its healthcare infrastructure.

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