Mumbai: Committee finds resident doctors’ claims about seniors true

Representation pic

The three-member committee at Sir JJ Hospital has concluded that the allegations levelled by the resident doctors against the top faculty are prima facie true in nature. The committee found irregularities in academic sessions and training at the Opthalmology Department, which is a clear violation of guidelines set by the National Medical Commission (NMC). After this, the dean has formed another committee to streamline the academic work in the department.

On 25 May the resident doctors of the Ophthalmology Department of JJ Hospital and Medical College had written a complaint letter about the top faculty doctor in the Opthalmology Department, stating there is a lack of surgical and academic opportunities. The complaint letter to the dean alleged that Dr T P Lahane (ex-dean and ex-DMER director), along with Dr Ragini Parekh (Head of the Department), run the department dictatorially, clearly violating NMC guidelines at multiple levels. It was also claimed that the duo perform almost all the surgeries in the department. Extremely negligible attention was paid to the academics of the residents. After these allegations, the dean formed a 3-member committee to investigate them.

A senior doctor said, "As per the committee's report, the allegations of resident doctors that there is no unit, they do not get operative work, and there is no proper academic session, were found to be true. As per the norms, there have to be two units at JJ Hospital, however, it isnot so. So one more committee is being set up by the dean to form a unit for faculty and resident doctors by Wednesday."

Another allegation claimed that Dr Sumeet Lahane, the son of Dr Lahane, had been trying to manipulate and intimidate junior residents to withdraw the complaint. An official said one more committee has been formed to investigate the matter. A MARD representative said, "We want Dr Parekh and Dr TP Lahane to be transferred to a non-teaching institute. We have filed a complaint with the NMC, MUHS, and State Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan."

Dr Parekh said, "In our department, we have one full-time professor that is me, one full-time lecturer, and one bonded senior resident. Three full-time associate professors' posts are vacant. We have one contract basis associate professor. One lecturer's post is vacant. We had six senior residents (post-MS) posts that have been reduced to one. We have three honorary teachers. We have written a letter in February seeking filling up the posts. My team and I have worked according to NMC guidelines but filling up posts is not in our hands."