Doctors of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) are divided over chief minister Nitish Kumar’s decision of granting autonomy to the state’s premier health hub. While many are delighted at the decision, a few are not so happy.

At a meeting at his official residence on March 25, chief minister Nitish Kumar instructed health officials to work on an autonomy model for the PMCH.

If the medical cradle gets autonomy, its administrative control would be shifted from the state government to a director and a panel of doctors.

A doctor of the medicine department said: “The chief minister’s decision to grant autonomy to PMCH would not be favourable. We can see what is happening at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, which is an autonomous body. There have been many cases of irregularities. In an autonomous body, a person is given so many responsibilities that he/she starts misusing it. If the state government grants autonomy to PMCH, the same situation would arise at the capital’s premier health hub.”

Another doctor, preferring anonymity, said: “At present, whenever some irregularity is detected at PMCH, the state government takes necessary action. If power is given to the director and the panel of doctors, many people might influence them to go soft on the accused.”

A senior doctor from the department of skin, venereal disease and leprosy echoed the opinion.

However, several doctors are in support of the state government’s decision. Dr J.P. Gupta, the in-charge of the paediatric surgery department, said the autonomy would boost the health hub’s infrastructure. “There are huge differences between facilities provided at private hospitals and those available at PMCH. Many devices, including the magnetic resonance imaging machine, are not available at PMCH,” he said.

Dr Gupta added: “PMCH and the other government hospitals are like charitable institutions as many services are provided free of cost. You cannot expect free services to be good in terms of quality. Private hospitals charge exorbitant rates for offering the facilities but they are state-of-the-art. If PMCH is accorded autonomy, its infrastructure could be developed to a great extent. We can also generate revenue by charging patients for some services, which at present, are available for free.”

Dr Vimal Mukesh of the surgery department echoed Dr Gupta. “PMCH is the premier health hub of the state catering to a sizeable chunk of the population. But doctors here are dependent on the health department even for making small purchases. If there is a need for a particular device, they have to write a letter to the superintendent. The superintendent, in turn, writes a letter to the health department seeking funds. The whole process is time-consuming. If PMCH is granted autonomy, we won’t have to depend on the health department to buy basic items,” said Dr Mukesh.

Another doctor, who did not wish to be named, said physicians sometimes face a crisis even for basic amenities like cotton and syringes and have to wait for the health department funds to buy these.