Medical Council of India (MCI) has compromised its abilities to maintain standards in medical education, Rajen Padukone, CEO, Manipal Education and Medical Group has alleged. He was also critical in the role of Indian Nursing Council (INC) in regulating the standards and training of nursing programmes in India.

Addressing the CII - Indian Healthcare Federation conference at New Delhi recently, Padukone said that MCI's ability to maintain standards has been compromised by pressure groups and external influences. INC has very little say in regulation of standards, he noted.

He wanted MCI and INCs to have greater empowerment and financial support to regulate and monitor standards. Stressing for greater regulation of standards of delivery at healthcare facilities, Padukone suggested the setting up of an accreditation system to ensure adherence to quality in healthcare institutions. Outsourcing of non-medical support services to push up quality levels and thereby have a direct impact on efficiency levels was another suggestion.

Pointing out that the efforts at continuing education have been inadequate, he said that India has no system of ongoing evaluation of medical capability such as that which exists in the West. Lack of specialized and accredited training programmes for nurses and technicians was also highlighted. He said that the student working conditions are neither standardized nor monitored in the country. "Poor pay, long working hours and bad working conditions creates discontent and frustration", he said.

He said that significant regional variations exist among medical colleges facilities that are available. "Four states have 51% of medical colleges in the country. The rural-urban divide and the pattern of dispersion of doctors across the country have also contributed to the problems" he noted. The four states are Maharashtra (22 per cent), Karnataka (19 per cent), Tamil Nadu (13 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (10 per cent) respectively. Statistics also reveals that there are only 145 medical colleges in India as against 200 that have been recommended by the Mudaliar Committee.

Absence of paramedics / technicians skills in the semi urban centers and the situation where majority of doctors opt for post graduation are leading to a shortage of doctors attracted to serve public health needs. Clinical specialists far exceed pathologists, microbiologists and radiologists, he said.