Indian Medical Association writes to state government, talks of going to court if Maharashtra Medical Council not made active in fortnight

State's medical body needs help

Indian Medical Association writes to state government, talks of going to court if Maharashtra Medical Council not made active in fortnight

The state's premier medical body, the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), which regulates the medical sector in the state, is facing a crisis. Even 18 months after elections to the council, which would hear cases on medical negligence and also issue registration of doctors, the body is yet to be formed.

The reason is that the government is yet to nominate five members to the council, without which it can not
be established fully and be made functional. According to MMC rules, 10 members to the council get elected by a ballot system where registered doctors across the state vote to elect their representatives. Apart from this, five senior doctors are nominated by the government to the council.

Elections to the council took place in May 2009, but the nominations are still awaited.

Fed up with the delay, the action cell of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has written to the Medical Education Minister stating that the council be made active in 15 days or the IMA would go to court over the issue.

"Yes, we wrote the letter because of the delay. Firstly, for 10 years the MMC was not functional as elections weren't held. Finally, when they did hold elections they reduced it to an exercise on paper when they didn't do their bit by nominating people, and thus no council was formed," said Dr Devendra Shirole, chairperson, action committee, IMA. "What is happening is that despite a competent panel, no cases are being heard or duties discharged because they have no power."

The MMC does the work of not only registering doctors and prescribing and maintaining the standard of medical education but also hears cases on medical negligence and misconduct and can deregister a doctor, if found guilty.

Dr Suhas Pingle, elected member of the MMC, said that though they had a meeting with the medical education secretary last week, they got nothing except empty promises.

"It is high time this issue is resolved as the MMC is being reduced to nothing but a paper tiger in this manner," he said.