Medical Teachers up in arms against NMC Bill
Patiala-On a call given by Punjab State Medical & Dental Teachers Association Patiala Unit to oppose the National Medical Commission Bill being passed by the Central Government, the medical teachers, resident doctors and medical officers working in Government Medical College Rajindra Hospital Patiala along with medical students observed a strong protest today.
Except emergency working, all other services including outdoor patient and operation theatre functioning in the hospital remained suspended for more than two hours and more than 400 medical students abstained their teaching classes. The protesting faculty and the doctors held a protest rally outside the office of the college principal and raised slogans against Central Government.
Dr DS Bhullar, General Secretary of the Association (PSMDTA), Indian Medical Association is vehemently opposing the National Medical Commission because the central government is trying to bring the same consisting of appointed members by the Government who will be non medical people with no knowledge about medical education and these people will be dictating terms to the medical professionals. The bill will create quacks (half baked doctors) in the name of bridge course and is against poor meritorious students as it will give rise to reduction in government MBBS quota seats but increase in paid private quota seats and ultimately commercialization of medical education in the hands of mighty players. The rights of the states will get marginalized.
The licentiate examination for young budding doctors, who went through the mental torture of a qualifying examination to enter the profession, will prove a futile exercise with added stress in the form of an exit exam. The bill is anti-doctor and anti-people and a big harassment for medical students and will ultimately produce money minting institutions in the form of mushrooming of private medical colleges in the country. The medical teachers and students fully support the nationwide strike of Indian Medical Association and will fight tooth and nail against this draconian bill being introduced in the parliament.
