Bengaluru Rural MP Dr C N Manjunath.
Credit: DH Photo
New Delhi: Bengaluru Rural BJP MP Dr C N Manjunath on Friday said the government should take steps to set up post graduate medical colleges in district hospitals having 200 beds.
Speaking during a discussion on the Demand for Grants of the Health Ministry in Lok Sabha, Manjunath said, "There is a need to set up PG medical colleges in district hospitals by strengthening existing hospitals with adequate manpower and technicians."
Expressing concern over increasing deaths due to heart attacks, the cardiologist turned politician said that "Earlier, children would bring parents for treatment of heart attacks. Now, parents are bringing their children with cases of heart and brain strokes." Heart attacks are now affecting people across all economic strata, he said.
He also underscored the need of moving from construction of medical institutions to creation of posts and recruitment in the health sector.
"We are talking about the construction of hospitals, medical colleges and AIIMS. The theme should move from construction to the creation of posts and from creation of posts, we should move to recruitment," he said.
Manjunath highlighted India's talent pool, noting the availability of around 14 lakh allopathic doctors and five lakh AYUSH doctors, and mentioned the need for an additional three lakh doctors.
He also emphasized the importance of limiting the number of medical college seats to 150 to ensure hands-on experience for doctors, warning that undertrained doctors can be more dangerous than the diseases they treat.
He called for innovative approaches like starting postgraduate medical colleges with lower initial expenditure and better quality treatment for patients.
He also demanded AIIMS for Karnataka and an increase in salary of staff nurses who are just getting Rs 13,000 per month which is lower than daily wages.