Ranchi, June 6: A three-member team from Medical Council of India (MCI) inspected the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) today before allowing the state government to increase the number of seats to 150 from 90 in the MBBS course.

The team verified the posts of faculties and postgraduate students, other than visiting the RIMS registration counters, central emergency ward, medical record room, outdoor medicine ward, outdoor surgical ward, ENT department MRI and cardiac centre and radiology department.

During the inspection they noticed a congested central emergency ward, they suggested removal of cabins to increase the number of seats. They were unhappy with the way nameplates hanging outside individual wards.

“Everyone is not entitled to place nameplates. There are set norms for placing them,” a member of the inspection team was heard saying while directing RIMS officials to remove the nameplate of D.K. Jha, the registrar of the outdoor medicine ward.

Members of the surgical outdoor ward were heard suggesting construction of two separate units for plaster and plaster-cutting work. They also told RIMS director N.N. Agarwal to carry out modification work to meet MCI demands.

The team, comprising P.K. Dasgupta, S.B. Agrawal and Sherwal, was here to carry out an inspection in response to the state government’s letter.

The government had requested MCI to allow RIMS admit 150 students instead of 90 in the MBBS course.

The inspection will continue till tomorrow.

MCI, the apex regulatory body for medical colleges and hospitals, was established in 1934. It helps maintain uniform standards of medical education.

It recommends recognition and de-recognition of medical qualification of medical institutions of India. It gives permanent and provisional registration to doctors with recognised medical qualification.

In April this year, the regulatory body had cancelled the admission of all the 90 students of the 2007 batch of RIMS when it did not find an adequate number of faculty members.

The action saw protests for over 15 days and efforts were made to mount pressure on the regulatory body to withdraw its decision.