COPING WITH SHORTAGESEXPERIENCE OF INDIA

WMA seminar "Human resources for health", 8-9 March 2009, Dr. Ketan Desai, President-Medical Council of India

How do we Address it?

Disclosure

Exposure

Education

Disclosure

India has a pool of 7,00,000 doctors of Modern Medicine- 2nd Largest in the world

Doctor population ratio is 60:1,00,000

Below that of developed countries like USA, UK & Australia

If the attributed doctor population ratio is taken at 100:1,00,000 there would still be an additional requirement of 4,00,000 doctors

Disclosure

Huge Urban Rural divide- 70% population lives in Rural areas

30% Medical manpower available in Rural areas

Population

Rural Areas

Urban Areas

Manpower

Medical Manpower (Rural)

Medical Manpower (Urban)

Exposure Vertical and horizontal expansion of medical

colleges

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1947 1993 2008

360

875

1154

0.064 0.17 0.25

Estimated Population (Million)

Medical Colleges

Ratio (No. of Medical Colleges/million)

Exposure The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 was

amended in 1993 along with several regulations on Minimum Requirements in medical colleges to regulate the Medical Education in the country Availability of unitary plot of land of 25 acres -

Resulted in opening of new medical colleges and Tertiary healthcare facilities in Rural Areas which did not exist before

Helped graduates from rural surrounding to settle there once graduated

Exposure

Reduction in the requirement of beds for a medical college without sacrificing quality of clinical education

Hospital buildings were permitted to rise from 3-4 storey to 10-12 storey-which resulted in low cost of infrastructure

All the above measures helped in establishment of more Medical Colleges throughout the country

Exposure

Out of 131 colleges opened in 15 years period between 1993 to 2008, as many as 97 were in Semi Urban, District, Taluka Headquarters and in Rural areas

Colleges

Semi Urban, District, Taluka Head Quarters, Rural Areas

Urban

Exposure Further Regulations were amended by the

Council in 2008

Unitary plots of 25 acres were difficult to be acquired in urban areas having population more than 25 lac and in hilly & tribal areas-this condition was relaxed wherein college could be setup in 2 pieces of land

Companies/Corporate were also permitted to establish a medical college

Reduction in Teaching faculty requirement by 20% in Pre and Para-Clinical subjects

Reduction in infrastructure requirement

Education

Teacher student ratio relaxed to 1:2 in case of Professor from 1:1

Institute would add 10 beds to increase the availability of postgraduate seats without sacrificing the quality of bed side teaching

The Medical Council of India has amended -that at least 50% of the seats in postgraduate diploma courses should only be reserved for those who have completed a specified minimum period of service in rural areas

Education

Contributions of Indian Medical Association

AKN Sinha Institute of Medical Education and

Research for Postgraduate Certificate

courses in the form of distant learning

program

IMA College of General practitioners -

Medical education program for family

physicians dealing with all sorts of medical

emergencies in rural and backward areas.

“Aao Gaon Chale” which means “Let Us

go to the Villages”Doctors visit villages in

their spare time. Implemented

successfully in 500 villages benefiting

more than 1 lac people

THANK YOU