DG health services pitches for full autonomy to IGIMS

PATNA: Director general health services (DGHS), Government of India, Dr Jagdish Prasad has pitched for full autonomy to Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) saying “not giving autonomy was a blunder of the government” and alleged that the institute failed to reach desired heights because of political and bureaucratic interferences.
Addressing the first convocation of the 1983-established IGIMS here on Friday, Dr Prasad promised all help to the institute and said, “The idea behind establishing the institute was to develop it on the lines of AIIMS, Delhi, but, it never happened.I was here for two months in 1985 but realized there was a lot of political meddling in the day-to-day working of the institute. A lot of political turmoil in the last 20 years has restricted its development and it is high time IGIMS got complete autonomy and the director be vested with all decision-making powers.”
Dr Prasad also asked IGIMS director Dr N R Biswas to bring up proposals for establishing super-specialty centres in various departments for which the Centre was sanctioning funds to the tune of Rs120 crore. “About 60% patients at AIIMS, Delhi, are from Bihar. If super-specialty departments come up at government institutes, they won’t need to go so far. It will also create opportunities for the graduating students to work here,” Prasad said, urging the faculty members for taking initiatives for development of the institute.
At present, the IGIMS manpower is 776, including 120 faculty members, while its in-patient strength is 608. “Besides a new regional cancer institute, IGIMS also plans to start 20 new courses and super-specialty centres for which we’ll be sending the proposal to the Centre,” IGIMS director Dr Biswas said, adding, “Last year, about 3.41 lakh patients were treated at IGIMS and we’ve also succeeded in opening our first eye bank and perform our first angioplasty.”
Altogether 75 students were awarded degrees in the Magister Chirurgiae (MCh), doctor of medicine (DM and MD) and BSc X-ray technology streams. The list of awardees include: Ankita Choudhary, Neha Kumari, Ritambhara Gautam, Pragati Raj, Prateek Gautam, Shaloo Priya, Rahul Kumar, Alisha Shah and Surbhi.
Earlier in the day, the institute’s first cochlear implant was performed where a 15-year-old boy was implanted ears by AIIMS-Raipur doctor Rakesh Kumar. A live demonstration of the surgery was moderated by AIIMS-Raipur director Dr Nitin Nagarkar. Discussions on improving the examination pattern of the institute was also held where AIIMS-Delhi sub dean (examination) Dr Nand Kumar suggested ways to switch over to online exams.
The three-day celebrations of IGIMS kicked off on Thursday with oration and brainstorming sessions held on the day. A health exhibition by different IGIMS departments was put up on Friday while Saturday will see events such as fancy dress contest, fete and inter-college quiz contests, IGIMS doctor Manish Mandal said. The dignitaries gracing the three-day event include PGI-Chandigarh director Dr YK Chawla and AIIMS-Delhi cancer institute head Dr GK Rath.