SHILLONG, Sep 9: The High Court of Meghalaya has directed the state government to look into the reasons for the alarming level of attrition at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) and take remedial measures.
Hearing a PIL in relation to the suo motu cognizance of deficiencies in the health services in Meghalaya, the Additional Solicitor General of India submitted that NEIGRIHMS, the principal medical facility in the state, is seeing an exodus of medical personnel to the recently established All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, including at Guwahati.
“Some reasons were indicated as to why Shillong may not be an attractive long-term proposition. However, it is inconceivable that the doctors are getting better pay at other institutes since the pay and benefits would be almost the same in all comparable institutes,” the court observed.
“It is necessary for the State to look into the reasons for the alarming level of attrition at NEIGRIHMS and take remedial measures so that the institution survives not only in its brick and mortar but also in its intended service,” the division bench on Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh said.
A report was filed in the court on September 8, by the State through the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare department.
Though the report speaks of several measures having been taken by the state in the recent past to improve the healthcare facilities, particularly at the grassroots level, a lot more needs to be done, the court said.
“Seventy-five years after Independence and 50 years after the birth of the state, there is no medical college in the state nor is there any super-speciality hospital for cancer patients, though the incidence of oral cancer in the state is about the highest in the country,” it added.
The petitioner sought some time to study the report, since the report was made over to the petitioner only on Thursday evening.
While appreciating that some steps have been taken by the state to augment the healthcare facilities and look into the needs of, particularly the persons in far-flung areas, the court observed that a lot more needs to be done.
