Kerala: 108 faculty positions to be created at GMC Ernakulam

Kochi: In order to facilitate the starting of super specialty wings at Government Medical College, Ernakulam, the state cabinet has initiated the creation of a 108 posts including 10 professors posts in the medical college.

The introduction of new posts will benefit the college in ending the threat of loss of recognition for PG streams at the hands of the MCI,and the starting of super specialty wings in key streams such as cardiology, radio diagnosis, dentistry, psychiatry and ENT.

"We have been suffering from acute shortage of faculty and staff. The creation of posts will ensure transition of the medical college to a full-fledged one," said Dr V K Sreekala, Principal, GMC, Ernakulam.

"We had requested the state government to create around 500 posts. The director of medical education had agreed to create posts in a phased manner," added Ms. Sreekala

Many of the college departments are functioning without adequate specialist appointments. There has been an uproar about creating a cardiologists post. In the meanwhile

A contractual doctor has been offering his services twice or thrice a week . Once the post of professor, associate professor and assistant professor in cardiology will be filled, it will encourage the setting up of a cath lab for the medical college. Adequate filling of cardiology positions would lead to cath labs becoming functional.

The dialysis unit of the college will also get into proper operations, now that the post of a nephrologist has been created. Presently the dialysis wing is operating under the guidance of a professor of medicine.

The creation of faculty posts in neurology would ensure that tests such as electroencephalography (EEG), a test to assess the functioning of brain is conducted properly.

Students presently trudge to the neighbouring medical colleges for specialty trainings, as there are no specialty wings in the college. "Now PG students can be given training in our medical college itself. This will be beneficial for the medical college and patients as well. The PG students can be used for manning many services in the medical college," an medical college official revealed to the TOI.

The college is also without a nursing officer and head nurses, which acts a major handicap for patient care. The government is now planning to create the post of a nursing officer who would be coordinate all the nursing and cleaning staff. With positions of 13 head nurse posts, each ward would come under the supervision of a head nurse.