Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) in Delhi, who have been waiting for their compulsory rotating medical internships, face yet another problem — the abrupt dissolution of the Delhi Medical Council (DMC).
To recall, the DMC has been embroiled in an ongoing crisis, with financial irregularities, unlawful appointments and the lack of a registrar at the forefront. Due to this, Delhi’s healthcare system has come to an administrative standstill, with several regulatory processes halted.
These processes include issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to doctors wanting to move abroad, registering new MBBS graduates as licensed doctors, or allotting internships for undergraduates — both Indian and foreign.
Last month, it was reported that the Delhi Government has moved to dissolve the council due to these irregularities. Today, the website of the council appears to have been taken down — seemingly confirming these reports.
With the dissolution, FMGs, who are already having to run from pillar to post to secure their internships, are left in limbo.
Some FMGs told EdexLive that ever since the Delhi Government announced its decision to dissolve the DMC, officials from the council have been treating them with apathy and indifference.
“When FMGs visited the DMC to seek updates on their CRMI allotment, the staff told them that they did not want to help, as they had not been paid their salaries for the last two months,” alleged Dr Kaushal, Media Co-ordinator, All FMGs Association (AFA).
Confirming this, Dr Nandhini* (name changed to maintain anonymity of source), one of the 250+ FMGs waiting for their internships in Delhi, says, “It is almost as if they did not want to work. Even when colleges confirmed the availability of internships for FMGs, the officials did not share this information with us until we demanded it.”
She adds that even after assuring them that they would hear their grievances regarding the internships and scheduling appointments for today, the officials backed out at the last minute. “Currently, there are several FMGs at the NMC headquarters, trying to negotiate a solution out of this situation,” she informed.
However, with the DMC seemingly dissolved, the FMGs do not know which body or authorities are now responsible for allotting CRMI to them.
“We did not receive any confirmation from the Delhi Government of the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) regarding who is going to take over the responsibility of allotting internships to FMGs,” says Dr Nandini*.
She claimed that none of the officials involved — right from the newly-appointed Director General of Health Services Dr Rati Makkar, to Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had a solution to their issue.
“All they could say was that they weren’t aware of the matter. I want to ask, if they cannot help us, who should we go to? The Prime Minister?” an anguished Dr Nandhini* asks.
She submits that at this point, they are not concerned about the stipends and just seek internship allotments. “We have to complete our internships on time, because otherwise we won’t be able to appear for NEET-PG next year,” she explains.
These mishaps could have been avoided if the Delhi Government appointed a registrar to the Delhi Medical Council, says Dr Ashwini Dalmia, President-elect of the Delhi Medical Association and an Executive Member of the DMC.
“Even now, the Delhi Government would not appoint an interim registrar to take care of internship allotments, issuance of NOCs, and registration of new doctors. Nor would it transfer the responsibilities of the DMC to any other organisation, say the Delhi Government or the DGMC. Won’t these functions come to a grinding halt because of this?” he asks.
Meanwhile, FMGs at the DMC’s office told EdexLive that they are working to obtain internship letters for all FMGs.
“So far, 236 FMGs have been allotted internships,” the source said.
