Nagaland: NSRDA flags non-functional NIMSR hospital

Nagaland Senior Retired Doctors’ Association (NSRDA), during its first executive meeting held at Hotel Japfü on March 7, expressed serious concern over the continued non-functioning of the hospital at the Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMSR), Phriebagei, Kohima.
According to a press release, the new team also held extensive discussions on various pressing issues related to healthcare service delivery in the state, with particular focus on the non-functional hospital attached to the medical college.
The house observed that even after a decade since the project was initiated, the medical college was yet to have a fully functional hospital. Members expressed dismay over the slow pace of development, stating that a fully operational medical college hospital would significantly benefit both students pursuing professional medical education and patients requiring tertiary healthcare services.
As senior retired doctors, the association said it could not remain silent spectators to what it described as the “sorry state of affairs” of the state’s only medical college. The meeting also deliberated on concerns surrounding the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS). While government employees have been regularly contributing to the scheme, the association noted that only a relatively affluent section of the population had the means to access treatment in far-flung corporate hospitals.
The association questioned the rationale behind empanelling corporate hospitals outside the state when the majority of Nagaland’s population could not afford to avail such high-end facilities. It stressed that completion of the envisioned state-of-the-art medical college hospital at NIMSR was crucial, as it would enable patients to access CMHIS benefits within the state.
Further, the house expressed disappointment over what it termed the collapsing primary healthcare delivery system at the periphery. It observed that issues such as transfer and posting irregularities, chronic absenteeism of doctors at their places of posting, and the prevailing unethical roster system allowing doctors to work at their own convenience were among the key factors affecting healthcare delivery in rural areas.
NSRDA called upon working doctors to uphold ethical professionalism in the discharge of their duties and serve humanity to the best of their abilities. It also urged the department concerned to streamline its workforce to ensure equitable healthcare delivery without compromise.
The meeting concluded with a resolution urging the government to demonstrate strong political will, accelerate the ongoing works at NIMSR, and complete the project at the earliest in the larger interest of the citizens of Nagaland.