Imphal, October 04 2009: Considering the absence of progress in recruitment of faculty members, slow pace of physical infrastructure development, non-release of monthly salaries for appointed staff and the existing legal loopholes, many staff of JN Hospital and the Jawaharlal Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) are still doubtful if the institute can start its maiden session next year.

Taking due notice of the SPF Government's commitment to commence the first session of JNIMS this year, though disallowed by the Medical Council of India (MCI), The Sangai Express conducted a survey on the progress made by JNIMS during the intervening period.

However, there was little progress from the stage when it was not permitted by the MCI to start its maiden session this year.

Some senior staff of JN Hospital said that MCI refused to give consent for commencement of JNIMS' maiden session this year because of absence of Associate Professors for Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Forensic Medicine and Pharmacology.

Even as the current year is at its fag end, the Health Department seems to be making little efforts to recruit the required number of Associate Professors.

Even if the Department was making some efforts, it apparently met with little success.

JNIMS' appointed staff including Professors and staff of JN Hospital have not received salaries for three months.

Appointed Professors are also sitting idle waiting for commencement of session next year.

All these have proved serious detrimental factors, said the senior staff.

Even though construction work of physical infrastructure was taken up at a hectic pace, it seems the construction activity has been ceased all of a sudden.

Some contractors have completely halted construction works.

So far the Government has procured one CT Scan Machine, one Autoclave machine and one USG machine for JNIMS from SPA fund of 2007-08 .

Even as JN Hospital authority has provided rooms for installation of these machines, JNIMS authority is showing no interest to install the machines.

As such, JN Hospital authority is working to install them.

However, with the JNIMS authority not footing the installation charge, the JN Hospital authority is making do from its own sources.

Whether JN Hospital which is also referral hospital of the Govt has been transferred to JNIMS has become a big question, the staff said while quoting an official order issued by Health Commissioner in May this year which made all staff of JN Hospital subordinate to JNIMS Director.

The same order specified that JN Hospital Superintendent should also function as a subordinate of JNIMS Director.

Questioning whether the Health Commissioner's order was valid and viable, the senior staff asked if the order received approval of the Law Dept or published in gazette of the state Government.

Pointing out that JNIMS would be run by a society, they asserted that there are many legal loopholes in the administrative arrangements made by the Government.

There are around 24 senior doctors in JN Hospital qualified to be Professors.

Saying that they are all gazetted officers, they asked whether a non-gazetted officer can keep the gazetted officers under his/her control, in case all the staff of JN Hospital have been transferred to JNIMS.

In addition to such legal loopholes, the vast gap in pay scales of JNIMS doctors and JN Hospital doctors has seriously hurt the moral of JN Hospital doctors.

They have even decided to go to Courts, the senior staff disclosed.

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