Nagaland Medical Council formed

EMN Dimapur, April 10 Nagaland Medical Council (NMC) has been formed to streamline the medical fraternity and the practice of medicine in the state to help public make intelligent choices and decisions while seeking health care. The NMC will also scrutinize degrees of doctors, registration and complaints of negligence or unethical activities against doctors. The Nagaland Medical Council was constituted under the Nagaland Medical Council Act of 2014 as a mandatory requirement of the Medical Council of India, with Dr. L.M. Murry (retired) Director, Health and Family Welfare as its first president. In a statement, the Council said, it will function as a statutory body under the MCI Act of 1956, to fulfill its duties towards healthcare professionals and people of the state with impartiality and best of ability. Apart from getting doctors who practice Allopathic form of modern medicine registered in the state, it will also fulfill its duties to the proposed medical college, and to see that doctors adhere strictly to the Medical Council of India's (MCI) code of medical ethics. The first announcement of the council said, “All doctors in the state have to register under the Nagaland Medical Council. All other registrations from other states will have to transfer their registration under the Nagaland Medical Council. The doctors are requested to bring all their original certificates for verification and present it to the Deputy Registrar's office at Paramedical Training Institute Kohima within three months starting from the 1st May 2015. Till the 31st of July 2015. After this period, any medical practitioner who has not registered under the state council will not be allowed to practice in the state of Nagaland. (Please bring Xerox copies of all certificates for office records.) Please collect the appropriate application forms from the same office from the 25th of April 2015. This registration will be valid for a period of five years.” “All doctors will have to register the basic MBBS degree recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI schedule -1) as the primary registration. Further, degrees like post graduation (diploma or degree) and super-speciality will require additional registration forms and separate fees.” “This notification is mandatory for all doctors including those in the private sector, the Government service and in other services like the police department.” “All degrees will be properly scrutinized by the office of the Registrar of the Council and then an official list of the doctors with qualifications recognised by the Medical Council of the state will be published in all local papers for the general information of the public. Only those doctors in the recognised list will be allowed to practice in the state.” “Visiting doctors from other states who want to practice in nursing homes or hospitals will have to get a provisional registration from the council. This registration will be valid for a period of one year.” “Doctors seeking internship in hospitals in the state and MBBS graduates from the state in the event of the medical college functioning will also have to apply for a Provisional Certificate valid for a year.” “The Medical Council of Nagaland would like to request all members of the medical fraternity and the civil societies who are working for the betterment of our society and the general public to help us in a systematic reformation of the way modern Allopathic medicine is practiced in the state. The NMC wants to do its utmost to help streamline the medical fraternity and the practice of medicine in the state. To achieve this, it will involve in the following activities besides registration and scrutiny of degrees of doctors. It will go on an educational drive on the duties of the medical fraternity and the rights of the general public in health care delivery. It will visit all the districts in a step wise manner for the same purpose. It will go on a media campaign to publish the names of doctors available for the care of the public both in the private and the Government sectors with their appropriate degrees so that the public are not misled by fake degrees and to help them make intelligent choices and decisions when seeking health care. It will be available for hearing complaints against negligence or unethical activities against Doctors. Complaints should be given in writing addressed to the Registrar, Medical Council of Nagaland. Each complaint will be scrutinized and the offending doctor will be called to defend his actions. Appropriate action, even to the extent of removal of the name from the state register will be enforced when needed. Such doctors whose names are removed will not be allowed to practice in the state. The council will strengthen the Health & Family welfare department and the appropriate authorities to implement health laws for the welfare of the people of the state. Ethical medical practice with proper obedience to the orders of the Department of Health and Family welfare for those in Government service, along with proper registration of health care establishments for clean, safe and proper practice of the medical profession will be emphasised. Doctors are requested to strictly abide by the code of medical ethics laid down by the MCI. This code of ethics will be strictly enforced by the Nagaland Medical Council. Doctors are encouraged to perform their duties in letter and spirit which includes services to remote areas of the state. The Council will also work towards ensuring that the doctors of the state update their knowledge and keep in touch with medical advances by making attendance of continuing medical education a mandatory part of the activity of all clinical practicing doctors. Unless a doctor attends the mandatory requirements of the Medical Council's academic committee, their registration for practicing clinically after five years will not be re-considered. This in turn will help doctors of the state have the incentive to keep themselves updated and relevant resulting in better health care to the people of the state. The Nagaland Medical Council, will also work towards looking after the welfare of the medical fraternity. A committee for the protection of doctors has been formed under the council and will address issues towards this goal. The Nagaland Medical Council will also give suggestions to the Health and Family welfare department when needed for the ethical functioning of health care delivery to the people of the state.” The Nagaland Medical Council welcomed suggestions from both within the medical fraternity and from the general public on ways it can improve the health care delivery in the state. “We will work with honestly, transparency, and fairness to do our appointed responsibility for the welfare of the people of our state.”