Committee submits 40-pages report on need of IMS to IMA

The National Working Committee of the Indian Medical Association formed to submit the recommendation for the formation of the Indian Medical Services IMS a separate cadre on the lines of the IASIPS IFS and IRS has submitted its 40pages detailed report on Tuesday to the AssociationThe COVID19 pandemic and numerous experiments with drugs have once again brought into focus the need for a dedicated IMS midday has been writing about this on July 15 Indian Medical Services needed to save crumbling health care system and July 8 Indian Medical services needed for administrative decisions of healthcareA fivemember team under the chairmanship of Dr Vedprakash Mishra national head of the Academic Programme Indian Programme UNESCO chair in BioEthics Haifa is working on the modulation of structure operation and function of IMS constituted by Dr Rajan Sharma national president Indian Medical Association IMA The working group includes Dr Vinay Agarwal former national president and member of IMA Dr Shivkumar Utture president Maharashtra Medical Council MMC and Dr R V Asokan secretary general IMA HQDelhi Dr S Arulrhaj president Association of Physicians of India and Dr A Marthanda Pillai former national president IMA were invitees They all met on Sunday July 19 to finalise their recommendationIMA President Dr Rajan Sharma meets Union Health SecretaryWhen asked to elaborate the need to have IMS Dr Mishra said The health sector in our country when compared in terms of the performance of Space Technology and Information Technology Sector makes for a tragic story For that matter even agriculture has not done well Even today there are many villages where health care workers are not availableWho is eligible for IMSThe entry to the Indian Medical Services will be exclusively allocated to those who possesses a minimum graduate qualification in modern medicine MBBS from a recognised medical college and examining university as per the reportExperts speakDr Subhash Hira professor of Global Health University of Washington USA and former technical advisor of Ministry of Health New Delhi said I have heard that the empowered IMS committee of Indian Medical Association has finalised sending recommendation to the central government This is a most welcome move and wish to congratulate the committee members for a job well doneDr Wiqar Shaikh senior allergy and asthma specialist said The IMS requires the services of a minimum MBBS qualified person this is because nonallopathic specialities may not be able to properly manage the huge allopathic speciality whereas the other way round the MBBS graduate would be able to provide adequate administration for nonallopathic specialities It is therefore essential that the IMS should appoint only a MBBS graduate although a post graduate medically qualified person would be more recommendedDr Ketan Vagholkar professor of Surgery at DY Patil College said IMS eligibility should be a basic medical graduate MBBS with three years of work experience or successful completion of post graduation MDDNB This will ensure that the person has knowledge of the system with respect to his functioning And age should not be a criteria for eligibility to IMS servicesDr Mishra added Although Sir John Bhore laid down the health policy way back in 1946 whereby the precare system of health delivery was recommended the same came to be implemented in independent India throughout its length and breadth The principles incorporated in Sir Bhore Committee stand diluted over the years in an incremental manner The Doctor Population ratio still remains at 11445 whereas WHO has recommended it to be as 11000 population There is a huge and remarkable skewed distribution of medical colleges in the country and also that of doctors and the para medical staffThe fund allocation as such for health sector which ought to have been at least 5 of the GDP is still a far cry and is as low as 12 of the GDP as of now The added tragedy is that even the allotted funds are not optimally utilised and moreover dont end up accruing planned and desired benefits to the targeted beneficiaries which ends up in defeating the cause he addedAreas covered in the reportNomenclatureThe nomenclature of the services should be Indian Medical Services so as to be in tune with the very nomenclature that has a great grand legacy of well over three centuries of effective meaningful and laudable services to the cause of public interest in the domain of effective and meaningful healthcare delivery system In the teeth of the material fact that Right to Health turns out to be a fundamental right accruable to every citizen of India independent of any differentiation or demarcation of any type in terms of guarantee emanating out of Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the legitimate fulfilment of the said guaranteed right without any breach of any type stands warranted as the most desired modality for actualization of the Welfare State enshrined and contemplated in the Constitution of India as its core objectiveScopeThe scope of the Indian Medical Services which would be a cadre under the umbrella rubric of Union Public Services in terms of their origin from All India Services Act 1951 needs to be viewed in the context of material realities including1 Public health management means not only addressing preventive and promotive measures of health but also organising of Primary Secondary and Tertiary healthcare services as an integral part of crystallized healthcare delivery system This in turn needs expertise in all key health systems components including human resources for health community participation health informatics management approaches suited technology for the health governance and management financing of healthcare in the domain of health economics demographics and above all it also needs a sound ingraining in epidemiology as well as surveillance2 There is a myth that doctors as professionals are poor managers However the runaway success of doctors as leaders in private healthcare industry belies such a generalised and simplistic conclusion3 Doctors in Health Services are recruited and trained to play entirely different roles than what is required for health administrators and policy makers4 As of now it is vividly seen that there is a palpable technical gap between planning and execution in as much as that the personnel in the administrative cadre may be a good administrator but necessarily may not understand the intricacies of the healthcare sector Similarly a doctor may be excellent in his clinical practice but may not be as good as an administrator This gap is bridgeable in terms of creation of a specialised breed of administrators that would cater to better management and administration of healthcare systems including the public health in the country as a whole5 The core scope of the Indian Medical Services therefore would invariably be to create a specialised breed of administrators who would undertake better management of healthcare system including public health with ease elegance and desired innovation in larger public interest as a part of cadre under All India Civil Services christened as Indian Medical ServicesRelevanceThe relevance of All India Services continues to be viewed in the context of material facts that include1 The All India Services continue to be one of the premier institutions to uphold the unity of the country as a whole2 The members of the All India Services have lived up to the vision as envisaged by the framers of the Constitution of India3 The All India Services ensure integrity cohesion efficiency and coordination with administration of the country The common recruitment and training ensures uniform standard of administration in the States and Union Territories as well4 The availability of experience gained in different parts of the country turns out to be an asset in itself5 An Espirit De Corps interalia professional fellow feeling develops amongst fellow professional members6 The required and sought after staff support comes through permissible Lateral entry7 The effective leadership stands acquire through placements Right from SubDivisionalDistrict provincial up to central level that would smoothen the core dispensation of healthcare delivery system8 The varied administrative experience blended with professional medical skills including in the domain of public health would augur well for the incumbents to discharge their duties and responsibilities with precision and optimal perfection9 It would add to the qualitative improvement in medical and health services including public health in the country10 The National Health Programme Scheme and projects thereto would get better implemented yielding optimal public benefits11 The union Government and also the State Governments including those of Union Territories would get wide scope for selecting suitable Officers for manning the administrative posts12 The Union as well as the State Governments and those of Union Territories would stand to mutual benefit due to rich experiences gained by the personnel under the Indian Medical Services postings13 It would cater to National integration and provide a bull work against the forces of disruption parochialism and regionalism14 It would serve as a strong catalytic agent for realization of core guarantee of Right to Health to all the citizens guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and also the universal goal health equitably and affordablyStructureThe structure of the Indian Medical Services would be in the form of a cadre specialised in character for the dispensation of healthcare services including those in the domain of public health excluding the domain of medical education in its entiretyOperationsThe operations of the Indian Medical Services would be akin to and on par with those as applicable to Indian Administrative Services with reference to terms service conditions postings modality of recruitment allotment of cadre and other cogent correlatesCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news