Nagaland Medical College: The Illusive Dream

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t is extremely sad to learn that the much talked about Medical College has been declined the Letter of Permit (LoP) by the MCI (Medical Council of India) Inspection Team this year. It is in this regard that I would like to share a serious concern. Aside from a lucky few, illnesses are a part of human life. As human beings, we are all vulnerable and no one is immune; whether a Minister, Secretary, Director, Businessman or anybody else. We often come across mostly VIPs seeking appointment/s for diagnosis, investigations or treatment in big Hospitals like AIIMS, Apollo, Gangaram, BLK etc. But what about ordinary people who cannot afford such luxuries? Don’t you ever wonder why it is that even after 50 years of Statehood, we are yet to have a modern Hospital to take care of our problems. Why do we always have to rush to big cities in times of sicknesses?What could be the reason/s for our inability to set up a modern Hospital till date? Is it lack of Doctors or Specialists? Is it lack of Infrastructure, Equipment/s? Is it Insurgency problem? Is it difficult terrain? Who is responsible for this sorry state of affairs? Is it Politicians? Doctors? or slackness on the part of the Department of Health and Family Welfare? How much longer should we wait to pursue this dream of our own Medical College where our own patients may be seen at home? These are some question that often comes to mind. I think no single factor can be held responsible for this state of affairs. The answer lies in multiple factors which require a multi factorial response. There must be concerted effort from all the stakeholders like Planning, Finance, Urban, Roads and Bridges, Power, PWD, Higher and Technical Dept, PHE, the Village or the Public and of course, the Politicians. We Nagas are a very casual people and we have a regrettable tendency of taking shortcuts in most of our ventures. However, there is no short cut towards setting up of a Medical college. There are Criteria, Norms and Standards to be fulfilled, such as stipulated by the Medical Council of India Guidelines and GoI directives, within specific timelines etc. Not complying with these Norms and Standards will naturally lead to rejection even if there is political will and determination from the Department. Our objective will be achieved only if there is a commitment by all the stakeholders. The Department of Health and Family Welfare alone will not be able to push through this maze of obstacles until and unless there is support and co operation from the entire team. For example, PHE offering to work out the Water supply/connection from their Department’s Annual budget. Likewise, every concerned Department may have to cut corners to accommodate the Project requirements. In fact one certain Minister had remarked “Itu to ami khan bhat nakhaile bhi kuribo lagibo“ (This will have to be done even if we don’t eat). This is a very positive and determined approach, the likes of which we all need to inculcate if this dream is to be turned into reality. But if any of the important players decides to raise unnecessary questions, delay the file/s or put up objections, the process may very easily be derailed. Such attitudes can only result in prolonging our wandering in the wilderness! It is also possible this Mega project may stand in the way of some personal or vested interests. But this must be sacrificed for common good! A state of the art technology Hospital in the form of Medical College is a dire necessity in Nagaland. If we seriously work together with a single minded agenda of setting up the College, there is no reason why we cannot do it; especially when all our neighboring States are coming up with a dozen Medical colleges. It is toward this end that I hope the leadership of Health and Family Welfare will succeed in making the Medical college a reality very soon for the people of Nagaland! Dr. Neiphi Kire, Kohima