SHILLONG, Oct 24: More than two dozen doctors and specialists will soon join the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) to bail it out of a manpower shortage.
The NEIGRIHMS conducted the recruitment recently after several doctors reportedly left the institute for greener pastures.
Nalin Mehta, the institute’s director said the NEIGRIHMS has offered appointment letters to 26-27 healthcare specialists and a few of them have already joined.
He said some of the doctors have sought time as they are required to give up to three months’ notice to their current employers.
Mehta’s predecessor, D.M. Thappa had rejected the applications of several NEIGRIHMS doctors who had sought no-objection certificates for joining the All India Institute of Medical Sciences near Guwahati.
The NEIGRIHMS has faced manpower challenges since its inception. This has often made the institute struggle to cater to patients who come for treatment from across the Northeast.
Many doctors reportedly do not want to work in Meghalaya since they are not able to buy land and enjoy other facilities. This made senior BJP leader and former Health Minister, Alexander Laloo Hek ask the government to allot land for the doctors just as it is done for the IAS/IPS officers.
Meanwhile, the concessionaire is expected to complete the construction of the Regional Cancer Centre in NEIGRIHMS by November.
The project review meeting of the ministry concerned is scheduled on October 29.
The High Court of Meghalaya had expressed concern over the lack of cancer care in the state.
