Things have been going wrong in this premier institute over a long period. The question that arises is why those wrongs are not being set right and on whom does the onus of course correction lie? Every public and private institution has a governing council (GC) whose responsibility is to draw broad policy guidelines which the institute should follow. The GC is also to keep an eye on the functioning of the Institute to see that there are no administrative lapses which would affect patient care. Now when did the GC of NEIGRIHMS last meet? Records show that the GC last met in June 2015. Is that not a violation of the rules of governance of public institutions? It certainly violates rule of corporate governance.
A director comes into an institute and is expected to understand its organizational culture and to strengthen elements that would make it more robust. It is an established fact that the best leaders positively impact long-term organizational culture and values through their own behaviours. The Director NEIGRIHMS on the contrary has presided over an organisation whose attrition rate has gone up ever since he joined. In a health institution the director is just the first among equals. He is to treat all doctors, irrespective of seniority with equal respect. This has not been the case with the present Director who it is alleged has never called for a meeting where the doctors’ concerns can be aired. On the contrary doctors wishing to meet the Director have been kept waiting outside his office and sometimes without meeting them at all. Naturally this has created a climate of resentment and what has happened in recent times is a culmination of all the above factors.
Another important leadership trait is the ability to communicate clearly and concisely. The NEIGRIHMS Director has failed to make communicate a two-way process but is adept at sending out memos to doctors instead of inviting them for talks. For junior doctors and even for senior ones, being heard is important even if final decisions are not what were initially requested. Leaders lacking in emotional intelligence cannot effectively head any organisation, least of all a medical organisation where empathy is the key word. The Director evidently has no team building skills and the result today is a premier health institution that keeps its patients on endless wait even for surgery. Clearly the Modi Government has been amiss in addressing the goings-on in NEIGRIHMS despite several complaints being lodged against the Director by members of the GC. The critical question to ask is whether the Modi Government indeed cares for institutions in the North East.