Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary Evaluates Health Sector Infrastructure Enhancements
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Jammu, Dec 5 (NationPress) The Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, Atal Dulloo, held a meeting on Wednesday with the Health and Medical Education Department to review the measures undertaken to increase the number of MBBS, Post-graduate (PG), and Post-Doctoral seats in medical colleges across the Union Territory.
During this meeting, the Chief Secretary also assessed the enhancement of patient services and the completion of numerous health projects throughout the region, as stated in an official release.
In attendance were the Health and Medical Education Secretary, the Secretary of the Public Works Department, the Mission Director of the National Health Mission, principals of various medical colleges, the Director Health of Jammu/Kashmir, the Mission Director of the J&K Medical Supplies Corporation Limited, and other relevant officials.
Chief Secretary Dulloo inquired with each medical college principal about the initiatives taken to introduce specialization courses such as MD/MS, DM/MCh, and DNB in their respective institutions. He emphasized the need for the principals of seven new medical colleges to implement measures to increase their MBBS intake by an additional 50 seats, on top of the current capacity of 100 seats each.
He encouraged them to leverage the existing infrastructure and manpower to accomplish this goal and to pursue other specializations. Furthermore, he advised the formulation of a comprehensive action plan aimed at upgrading tertiary care services within the newly established medical colleges and district hospitals over the next year. He assured that the government would provide full support to health institutions striving to enhance their services using available resources effectively.
The Chief Secretary also noted the available human resources at each medical college and urged the referral of all unfilled teaching vacancies while taking necessary steps to appoint professors through appropriate channels, as this personnel is crucial to enhancing the services and courses offered.
Additionally, he reviewed the status of IT-based services such as Tele-ICU, e-Sanjeevani, Tele Radiology, e-Sahaj, and Scan & Share within J&K hospitals. He recommended making health services universal and seamless by adopting these systems promptly and suggested linking remote districts to GMCs under the Tele-ICU initiative to reduce referrals.
Furthermore, the Chief Secretary assessed the project-wise status of significant undertakings by the department in various J&K regions, inquiring about the physical progress of each project and their estimated completion dates.
During the meeting, the Health and Medical Education Secretary, Syed Abid Rashid Shah, reported that 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 2025-26 academic session.
He expressed optimism about securing the necessary approvals, as they have developed a strategy to pursue it at the highest levels. He also provided a detailed breakdown of applications made for seats and courses by each college.
Regarding the addition of 50 MBBS seats in new GMCs, it was mentioned that this would be addressed for the next academic session following the necessary upgrades in human resources and infrastructure per the established norms. Proposals from GMC Baramulla, Anantnag, and Kathua had been received concerning this.
The meeting reviewed key infrastructure projects, including the completion of new medical colleges, an additional block at the LD Hospital, the State Cancer Institute in Jammu and Srinagar, R.N. Chopra Nursing Home Jammu, the Labour block at SMGS Hospital, MCH Lamberi, DH at Reshipora (Budgam), and critical care blocks under the PM ABHIM and ECRP programs.
