IACC doctors protests at Jantar Mantar against MCI's move to strip specialist tag of 1700-plus PGDCC Doctors
New Delhi : Indian Association of Clinical Cardiologists (IACC) doctors protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Thursday, 5th March 2020 against MCI's move to strip specialist tag of 1700-plus PGDCC Doctors, urges PM Modi to intervene. Medical practitioners started the protest march from Jantar Mantar and try to reach the Parliament but stopped by Delhi Police. In the wake of Medical Council of India stripping the specialist tag of over 1700 post-graduate Diploma holders in Clinical Cardiology (PGDCC) course from Indira Gandhi National Open University between 2006-13, the experts in the health fraternity are outraged and have written to Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, a peaceful march towards Parliament was carried out by Indian Association of Clinical Cardiologists (IACC) on Thursday, March 5 but police barricaded at Jantar Mantar and stopped the PGDCC Doctors at Jantar Mantar. The protest march started here at Jantar Mantar with the addressed and slogans by the doctors.
In the protest march, the IACC brought to the notice of the government that in bringing PGDCC into the mainstream a large number of clinical cardiologists would become available as the burden of cardiovascular disease is progressively increasing in the country.
The PGDCC course was conducted along with DM and DNB cardiology program and teaching faculty remained the same for both PGDCC and DNB/DM cardiology. MCI’s major objection was over the evaluation of the training program in accordance with the MCI Act 1956. MCI claims that IGNOU had not obtained the NOC before starting the course.
Dr Rajesh Rajan, Chairman - IACC Board of Governors, said, “It is an irony that MCI is snatching the tag of specialist from PGDCC cardiologist on extremely bizarre grounds. The government of India along with IGNOU launched this diploma course. The then Union Health Minister Dr Anbumoni Ramdoss inaugurated this course. Now they say that this course is not recognized. University Grant Commission in a notification in 1992 says that the certificates, diplomas and degrees awarded by IGNOU are to be treated equivalent to the corresponding awards of the universities in the country.
On one hand government of India launched historic projects like 'Ayushman Bharat' to help the poor and needy and on the other hand MCI destroys the government project by not giving recognition to PGDCC doctors , of which the majority are working in Rural India and practising preventive cardiology. Indians have realised that prevention is much better than cure. When the country needs 88000 thousand cardiologists to take care of our entire population according to world health organisation(WHO) standards with great empathy we in India have only 4000 plus cardiologists including PGDCC doctors.
Dr Rajesh Rajan further added, “IGNOU applied twice to GOI/MCI recognition, however, on both occasions, MCI refused to review the merit of the case by quoting section 10A of IMC act of 1956 and PGMER 2000, both of which have been quashed by the Honorable Delhi High Court. We are aghast by the neglectful behaviour of MCI and at the same time it is a clearcut contempt of Delhi High Court.”
Dr Mohammed Shafiq, Vice-President of IACC and President-Elect, after the protest march said, "If that was the case then why did the MCI grant recognition to Diploma in Cardiology from GSVM Medical College in Kanpur recently in September 2019 ?. If Kanpur diploma qualifies to be in the list of recognised diplomas just because GSVM is a medical college and on what grounds not recognising hundreds of PGDCC doctors who did this diploma from seven prestigious medical colleges?"
"I would like to ask MCI why this step-motherly approach towards these colleges? Do you have an answer as to why Diploma in Cardiology from GSVM Medical College, Kanpur is allowed and not the hundreds of PGDCC doctors? Probably your answer might be. "This is India and you should tolerate", Dr Shafiq added further.
PGDCC was conducted in the following medical colleges:
1. St. Johns Medical College, Bengaluru
2. Pushagiri Medical College, Kerala
3. MS Ramaiah Medical College & Teaching Hospital, Bengaluru
4. UN Mehta Institute of Cardiology & Research Centre, Ahmedabad
5. Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh
6. Guwahati Medical College, Guwahati
7. Indra Gandhi Institute of Cardiology, PMCH, Patna
