Govt firm on introducing IMHS; working group formed
| Date :08-Jul-2020 |
Dr Vedprakash Mishra
By Vikas Vaidya ;
Dr Vedprakash Mishra headed group would submit report by the end of July
Now, Indian Medical Health Services to cater to the needs of medical profession like IAS, IPS, IFS, IRS, etc
The civil services have the specialties like Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS) etc. Considering the importance of health sector, no specialty services was formed in the format of civil services. In the year 2017, Dr Vedprakash Mishra committee had initiated Indian Medical Services. But, the report was gathering dust. With coronavirus outbreak everybody realised the importance of health sector. Most of the states roped in the persons having expertise in health. This has paved way to what Dr Mishra initiated in 2017. Now, Central Government has formed a Study Group to be headed by Dr Mishra to take IMS concept forward.
Dr Mishra Committee would submit the report by July end. Only the name has been changed from IMS to IMHS (Indian Medical Health Services (IMHS) In most of the state bureaucrats with medical background are doing great work. For example in Maharashtra Dr Sanjay Mukherjee who himself is a medical graduate is handling the Covid 19 situation being a Medical Education Principal Secretary or Nagpur’s Divisional Commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar of Dr Rajan Khobragade (Nagpur’s son), Principal Secretary of Health in Kerala etc are doing exceedingly well.
Dr Vedprakash Mishra, National Head of the Academic Programme of Indian Programme UNESCO Chair in Bio-Ethics Haifa and Pro-Chancellor Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed to be University) has been designated to Head the National Working Group constituted by Dr Rajan Sharma, National President, Indian Medical Association, Headquarters, New Delhi to recommend structural, functional and operational modalities for creation of ‘Indian Medical and Health Services’ as a cadre under the domain of ‘Civil Services’.
The other members of the National Working Group are Dr Shivkumar Utture, President, Maharashtra Medical Council, Dr Vinay Aggarwal, Former National President, Indian Medical Association and also Former President of Confederation of Medical Associations in Asia and Oceania (CMAAO) along with Dr. R. V. Asokan the Secretary General of Indian Medical Association at its Headquarters at New Delhi. It may be recalled that a Task Force came to be constituted under the Chairmanship of Dr Vedprakash Mishra the then Chairman of the Academic Council of the Medical Council of India, New Delhi to work out a detailed report in regard to rejuvenation of Indian Medical Services as a cadre under the domain of Civil Services for effective management of healthcare delivery system in India to fulfill cogently the set out objectives for itself.
The report so submitted on 7th September, 2017 came to be adopted by the Medical Council of India, New Delhi and was forwarded to the Government of India, for the necessary on the said count. The present National Working Group is required to work out the structural, functional and operational modalities of the ‘Indian Medical Services’ to be rechristened as ‘Indian Medical and Health Services’ to be sent to the Government of India, in continuation of the earlier report of the Task Force headed by Dr. Vedprakash Mishra. Dr Mishra committee in 2017 had recommended to form Indian Medical Services (IMS) to cater to the larger cause of healthcare services in the country from the point of view of efficacious management and meaningful administration.
The recommendations further says the terms, service conditions, the modality of recruitment, allocation and allotment of cadre would be akin to the one as is applicable to the Indian Administrative Services personnel. The study group also recommended that the eligibility for appearing for the entrance examination for the Indian Medical Services would be a graduate degree in health professional sciences as recognized in the governing schedule. Long awaited constitution of Indian Medical Service is pending since last three decades while it was already passed by Parliament, Committee of Chief Ministers.
All suggestions to remove hurdles were also recommended by subsequent committees but every time the nodal ministry i.e. Union Ministry of Health, has scuttled the implementation. The department of personal and administrative reforms in fact notified its formation on January 25, 1977 but later on cancelled it, which had since then got recommended by various committees and even 5th Central Pay Commission in 1997.