MCI inspectors check documents at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital on Saturday. Picture by Gopi Raman

Medical Council of India (MCI) inspectors have directed Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital authorities to fill up the vacant posts in the health hub at the earliest.

The three-member team from New Delhi will submit its detailed report on the functioning of the medical college and hospital in a fortnight. The team, comprising doctors Bal Krishna, Arun Bhattacharya and Sheela Mahapatra, left on Sunday morning after a two-day visit.

In a short chat with The Telegraph on Sunday morning, Dr Mahapatra expressed displeasure with the poor functioning of the college.

The medical college runs an MBBS course with 50 seats but almost 50 per cent posts of teachers are vacant for several years.

Dr Mahapatra said: “The MCI can compromise with the functioning of a medical college with 10-20 per cent vacancy but this even crosses that rule. An acute dearth of teachers and carelessness on the part of the college administration is for all to see. The dwindling strength of teachers at the college is unnerving. The state government has perhaps turned a blind eye to fill the vacancies at the college.”

Things have reached such a phase that there are no professors for disciplines like ENT, orthopaedic, gynaecology and surgery at the medical college.

Dr Mahapatra, however, refused to comment on any threat of the medical college being de-recognised by the MCI. “The team will furnish the executive body of the MCI with the detailed report of the inspection within a fortnight or so. It is for the executive body to take the necessary action.”

Following the MCI’s hard-hitting directives, Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital superintendent Dr G.K. Thakur and principal Dr D.K. Sinha also requested the state government to fill the vacancies for doctors and faculty members.

Although the MCI team criticised the functioning of the medical college, it was all praises for the hospital administration.

The team commended the initiatives of Dr Thakur to attend to the scores of patients with depleted strength.

Dr Bal Krishna said: “Dr Thakur and his teammates have done well to run the hospital despite the adverse circumstances. A huge number of patients come to the hospital from various districts in north Bihar. Even though the doctors and medical students are overburdened, it is a good sign that they work beyond their fixed hours. There are many vacancies at the hospital but doctors are dedicated to attend to the patients admitted at the wards. Even the patients waiting on the floor of the hospital’s verandah are given medicines and medical support.”

The three inspectors from the MCI made a round of the hospital on Saturday evening to check the functioning of the indoor and outpatient departments, labour room, operating theatre, emergency ward and other allied departments. They also checked the medical gadgets.

Dr Arun Bhattacharya said: “The medical college and hospital is in urgent need of expansion. The campus of the medical college has adequate space and it should be properly utilised. A medical university can even be opened on the premises.”

The MCI team had reached Muzaffarpur on Friday for a two-day inspection of the health hub.

On Friday afternoon, the team had examined the declaration forms of doctors and faculty members. Their objective for the visit was to take stock of the issues plaguing the medical college and hospital, including the dearth of faculty and doctors at the health hub.

A senior doctor at the health hub had said on Friday that superintendent Thakur and college principal Dr Sinha have requested the state government to fill the vacant posts of teachers and doctors but all their efforts have so far proved futile.