CPS-affiliated institutions urge medical education dept to conduct inspections

Institutions affiliated to the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) in Mumbai have requested an inspection of their premises by the state medical education department. This comes in response to a show-cause notice issued by the department, which had identified anomalies in hospitals offering CPS-affiliated courses. The CPS is scheduled to meet with the medical education secretary on 29 May to respond to the notice. An investigation by the Maharashtra Medical Council last year found deficiencies in 45 institutions, with 73 refusing inspection.

Mumbai: Institutes affiliated to the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) have individually written to the state medical education department to inspect their premises.

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The decision comes days before the CPS is scheduled to meet Ashwini Joshi, medical education secretary, on May 29 to reply to the latter’s show-cause notice to explain the anomalies found at hospitals offering CPS-affiliated courses.

“In an email to the department, the institutions have given their consent to the state government to hold an inspection. We are ready to follow the instructions, but the admission process should begin,” Dr Girish Maindarkar, CPS president, said.

Earlier, during an inspection by the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) last year, two institutions offering courses of specialisation by the CPS were found closed, while there were deficiencies in 45 institutions and 73 institutions refused inspection.

Following the investigation, in January and February this year, Joshi wrote two letters to the Union health ministry on the state of affairs at the CPS and why admissions to its courses should be stopped.

The association of CPS-affiliated institutes then met Nitin Gadkari and sought his intervention. Gadkari then wrote to chief secretary Manukumar Srivastava on March 9 accusing Joshi of creating an impediment to CPS work. Joshi’s office sent the first show-cause notice on March 14 as she sent a strong rebuttal to Srivastava in response to Gadkari’s letter, defending her stand and citing examples of Rajasthan and Gujarat that had stopped admissions to CPS courses.

Meanwhile, a committee formed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare held its second meeting on CPS courses on May 25 to discuss the matter related to recognition of CPS courses, giving equivalence to these courses and whether to continue admission to these courses.

“States where the CPS courses are run or have stopped, were asked to submit their views on the courses. CPS was also pulled up for its non-transparent way of functioning. No decisions were made though,” said one of the committee members.

The MoHFW had formed a nine-member committee under the chairmanship of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The order to form the committee was given on April 3, wherein the ministry has also asked the committee to recommend comprehensive measures to address issues with regards to the CPS courses.

The CPS was established in 1912 as an examination body and derives power to grant degrees under the Indian Medical Degrees Act, of 1916.