Double MBBS, PG Medical seats; clear guidelines to employ final year MBBS medicos to fight COVID: Karnataka asks PM Modi

Written by MD Bureau Published On 2020-08-13T12:00:41+05:30 | Updated On 17 Dec 2022 2:21 PM IST

Double MBBS, PG Medical seats; clear guidelines to employ final year MBBS medicos to fight COVID: Karnataka asks PM Modi

Karnataka: Considering the current crisis, the Karnataka government has sought Centre's intervention and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double the number of Under-Graduate (MBBS) and Post-Graduate medical (PG Medical) seats in the state from 12,000 to 24,000.

In further elaboration of the requirements to meet an adequate number of trained manpower to tackle the pandemic, the state government also urged the PM to issue new guidelines to utilize final year MBBS students for COVID duties. Besides, it also asked for help to set up liquid oxygen plants at major hospitals.

This came during a video conference with the PM on the state of the pandemic in 10 states on August 11. Th conference was attended by Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar, joined by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa being in-home quarantine, Cabinet ministers, Medical education minister Dr. Sudhakar and Deputy Chief Minister CM Dr. C N Ashwath Narayan.

During the conference, the ministers suggested that the central government should give clear guidelines regarding employing the final year medicos in health facilities. The Minister also informed that after the completion of the final year MBBS exams there will be more professional health workers at their disposal and hence increasing the number of medical seats is important to ensure the supply of sufficient and trained workforce.

Pointing at the serious situation of the state, the Ministers stated that when the national average of death rate is 1.99 percent Bangalore has the death rate of 1.7 % itself and the whole state has a death rate of 1.8 %. At it, the PM instructed that when any new COVID case will arrive, the primary and secondary contact should be mandatorily traced and identified within three days which may help in bringing down the mortality rate.

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Talking about the future plans of the state in containing the pandemic, the ministers apprised that by the end of August the number of testing labs will be increased to 100 and the number of tests will also be increased from 50000 to 75000 per day eventually. The Medical Education minister has shared snippets of the conference on his social media platform.

As per a recent media report in IANS, PM suggested that the state governments aim for reducing the fatality rate to 1 per cent and instructed them to ensure contact tracing up to 70 per cent to control the spread of the virus.

Substantiating the need for their demands, the state cabinet ministers suggested that liquid oxygen plants need to be set up in major COVID Care Hospitals.

"If we get one liquid oxygen plant for each major hospital, it will greatly help in better ICU management and bringing down the death rate. The increase in the number of trained medicos will act as a buffer in emergencies.," State Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar, who was filling in for Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa who is under home quarantine told The New Indian Express.

Prime Minister Narendra Modicovid 19pg medical seatsMBBS seatsmbbs

Source : with inputs

MD Bureau

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