MCI norms violated: 2300 beds in GMCH, its Associated Hospitals against sanctioned 650

JAMMU: The violation of Medical Council of India (MCI) norms in Jammu and Kashmir could be well assessed from the fact that the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC&H), Jammu, and its Associated Hospitals have around twenty three hundred (2300) beds as against the sanctioned strength of 650 beds in accordance with the sanctioned MBBS seats.
Sources informed that apart from GMC, Jammu, the premier hospital of Jammu region, none of its Associated Hospitals namely, Super Specialty Hospital, Chest and Diseases Hospital, SMGS Hospital and Psychiatric Hospital, have Emergency Ward due to which the entire load is on the GMC.
They said that in case of emergency, the patients from the Associated Hospitals are shifted to GMC, which is already overburdened.
This concern was also expressed by the Principal GMC, Jammu, Dr Sunanda Raina, during inauguration of 100 bedded new Emergency Block at the GMC in January this year.
“Against 150 sanctioned MBBS seats, the required bed strength is 650. However, this institution is having nearly 2300 beds. There is almost five times more work load and existing emergency wing is over burdened because of huge work load pouring in from various region of Jammu and Kashmir,” Dr Sunanda had said.
The GMC, Jammu, with around 850 beds, Super Specialty Hospital with bed strength of 224, SMGS Hospital with bed strength of 650, Chest and Diseases Hospital and Psychiatric Hospital have total bed strength of around 2300 beds.
The GMC caters to the load of entire Jammu region right from Doda-Bhaderwah-Kishtwar at one end to Rajouri and Poonch at the other end of the region.
They said that GMC, Jammu, has 150 MBBS seats, which was enhanced to 180 in June this year by the Government of India (GoI) to accommodate aspirants from Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), to whom the central government provided 10% reservation, which would become effective from next academic session.
They said that over the years, the sanctioned bed strength of GMC, which earlier used to be around 750, has now crossed 900 including the bed strength of the Emergency Ward.
“The bed strength in the GMC has been enhanced in view of the load of patients increasing by the day but this has been done not in accordance with the norms,” they said.
Medical Council of India (MCI), in June had allotted 30 MBBS seats each to Government Medical Colleges (GMCs), Jammu and Srinagar and 25 seats to Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar for the academic session 2019-20 under Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.

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