J&K CS pushes for health sector overhaul with infrastructure boost

Jammu (The Uttam Hindu): Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, on Wednesday, held a meeting of the Health and Medical Education Department to take an assessment of the steps taken by the department to add more MBBS, Post-graduate (PG) or Post-Doctoral seats in the medical colleges established across the districts of the Union Territory. Besides this, the Chief Secretary also took this occasion to access the upgradation of services offered to patients here along with the completion of dozens of health projects taken up across the Union Territory, an official statement said. Besides, the Health and Medical Education Secretary, the meeting was attended by the Secretary; Public Works Department; Mission Director, National Health Mission; principals of medical colleges; Director Health Jammu/Kashmir; Mission Director, J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Limited, and other concerned officers.

"Chief Secretary Dulloo enquired from each of the medical college principals about the steps they had taken to add the specialisation courses like MD/MS, DM/MCh, and DNB in their respective hospitals. He also impressed upon the principals of seven new medical colleges to take necessary measures to add 50 more MBBS seats in addition to their intake capacity of 100 seats each," the statement said. "He urged them to utilise the infrastructure and manpower available to them to achieve this feat, besides aiming for adding other specialisations. He advised formulating a concrete plan of action to upgrade the tertiary care services in all the newly established medical colleges and district hospitals in the next year. He remarked that the government would extend full support to the health institutions aiming to make the necessary upgrades with optimum utilisation of their available resources." Chief Secretary Dulloo also took note of the human resources available in each of the medical colleges. He called for referring all the unfilled teaching vacancies besides taking steps to fill the positions of professors through proper channels as this manpower is essential to augment the services and courses offered by them. "On this occasion, the Chief Secretary also reviewed the status of IT-based services like Tele-ICU, e-Sanjeevani, Tele Radiology, e-Sahaj, Scan & Share here in hospitals of J&K. He suggested making health services universal and seamless by adopting these modules at an earliest. He made out that the Department should also choose some far-off districts to be linked to GMCs under the Tele-ICU program to minimise referrals from there," the statement added. "The Chief Secretary also took the project-wise status of major works taken up by the Department in different areas of J&K. He asked about the physical progress made in each of these projects besides the estimated dates of completion for each of them." While speaking in this meeting, the Health and Medical Education Secretary, Syed Abid Rashid Shah, said that the medical colleges in J&K had applied to the National Medical Commission for 213 PG seats, 88 DNB, and 28 DM/MCh seats for the session 2025-26.

He revealed that the department is hopeful to get the necessary approval as they have chalked a program to follow it up at the highest level. He further gave an in-depth analysis of college-wise seats and courses for which the applications had been made. Regarding the addition of 50 MBBS Seats in new GMCs, it was said that the same would be taken up for the next session after requisite upgradation in human resources and infrastructure as per the set norms. It was added that proposals from GMC Baramulla, Anantnag, and Kathua had been received in this regard. The infrastructure projects which came up for review during this meeting include key infrastructure projects like the completion of new medical colleges, an additional block of LD Hospital, State Cancer Institute at Jammu/Srinagar, R.N. Chopra Nursing Home Jammu, Labour block at SMGS Hospital, MCH Lamberi, DH at Reshipora (Budgam), and 100/50 bedded critical care blocks under PM ABHIM, ECRP programme.