President stresses on need for more medical seats

The President said it was surprising that while there were 1.47 million undergraduate engineering seats in the country, there were only 67,352 medical seats at the UG level and that 20% of medical seats were added in the last four years, adding, “As a country and a system, we need to address this gap quickly.” “There is urgent need to do this and to reform medical education so as to create room for more colleges and more medical graduates,” he said.    

The President, on a two-day official visit to Tamil Nadu, said “countries go through epidemiological transitions” as societies evolve, economies develop and population patterns change. 

Referring to the progress India has made since independence, he said when Scudder started this hospital, life expectancy was only 24 years as cholera and polio had devastated the country. However, now life expectancy has grown to 68 years and diseases like cholera and polio have been defeated due to advancement in medical science. 

He urged medical professionals to not rest on their laurels and address the regional, rural-urban, gender and community imbalances in connection with healthcare that remain despite advancement in healthcare facilities. 

In a bid to combat the nation’s epidemiological transition, he said, the maternal and infant mortality rates, communicable diseases like tuberculosis, vector borne diseases like malaria, water borne diseases like cholera and vaccine preventable diseases like measles and Tetanus have reduced in India. 

The nation must combat diabetes, cancers and cardio-vascular diseases along with conducting research to develop system to detect diseases like HIV, avian flu and H1N1 influenza, he said. The president added that this can be handled if the healthcare system focuses on the prevention of disease, promote proper treatment and cure them through a multi-stakeholder approach which includes government, civil society, public and private healthcare providers. 

Governor Banwarilal Purohit said that Tamil Nadu was a medical hub for various reasons. While the state was the first to enact the public health act, the Chennai government general hospital and the government eye hospital were the oldest in Asia. 

He added that the state also has witnessed an impressive reduction in both infant and maternal mortality rates. Today Tamil Nadu ranks first in immunization of children and has the most number of practitioners in various fields of medicine, the Governor said. 

Also present at the ceremony were Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurian, CMC director JV Peter, Principal Anna Pulimood, State Commercial Taxes Minister KC Veeramani and Collector SA Raman. The President also inaugurated a cardiothoracic surgery unit and renal transplant unit at the Sri Narayani hospital and research centre. 

CPM MP and Central Committee member TK Rangarajan met the President at Chennai Airport on Friday and discussed various important issues.  “The Rajya Sabha MP put forth issues ranging from Cauvery row to NEET exemption. He explained to the President that there has been unrest in the state due to the Centre’s failure to form the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) and livelihood of people has largely been affected,” said a statement from the state party unit. The state should be exempted from the NEET, he stressed and urged the President to take necessary steps so students can take the examination in the state.