SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Saturday highlighted the Jammu and Kashmir administration’s commitment to strengthening infrastructure and services across the Union Territory’s Government Medical Colleges (GMCs), with particular emphasis on recruiting faculty to support the introduction of 50 additional MBBS seats.
Chairing a high-level review meeting with senior health officials and principals of GMCs, Dulloo stressed the urgent need to fill all entry-level positions of Assistant Professors and to consider hiring on academic arrangements where qualified candidates for Professors and Associate Professors are unavailable. He directed the conduct of Departmental Promotion Committees (DPCs) to expedite the recruitment process.
While reviewing the progress of critical care infrastructure under the PM-ABHIM scheme, Dulloo reiterated the government’s prime concern of enhancing tertiary care services including emergency, neurological, cardiac, cancer, kidney and radiology units in the new medical colleges.
He directed medical colleges to create service introduction timelines based on available infrastructure and manpower and to seek support from SKIMS and GMCs in Srinagar and Jammu for specialised training and equipment procurement. “Swift intervention in critical care can save lives; efforts must be aligned to make that happen,” he asserted.
Dulloo also reviewed the status of MD/MS, DM/MCH, and DNB courses in medical colleges. He called for vigorous follow-up of applications submitted to the National Medical Commission (NMC) to ensure approvals before the next academic year.
Secretary Health and Medical Education (H&ME) Dr Syed Abid Rashid Shah informed the meeting that 391 applications have been submitted across GMCs to enhance seats for MD/MS, DNB, and super-speciality programmes. Approvals have been granted for several DNB and DM seats, including two DM Neurology seats and one DNB seat each in Cardiology and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at GMC Srinagar. Other colleges, including GMC Handwara, Kathua and IGGDC Jammu, have also received approvals in various specialisations.
On the addition of 50 MBBS seats in new medical colleges, Shah said all nine GMCs have applied, with some already inspected by NMC and others awaiting review. Vacancies for Assistant Professors have been referred to the Public Service Commission, while higher-level posts are being filled through promotion and academic arrangements.
The meeting also reviewed the progress of critical care blocks, including the construction of two 100-bedded and seven 50-bedded facilities, 20 District Integrated Public Health Labs (DIPHLs), and 236 Block Public Health Units (BPHUs), with tendering and work allocation already completed.
