The Nagaland Medical Council (NMC) held its Executive and Ethical Committee meeting on 18-07-25 and would like to release the following statements for the kind information of the general public and for those in the allopathic medical fraternity.
The Council after its formation in 2015 has made every effort to scrutinize and register all Allopathic Medical Practitioners of the State. The NMC have also tried its best to see that doctors practice their profession with competency, dignity and proper ethics and also strives to perform their duty with honesty, fairness, and justice to see that Modern Medicine is practiced in our State following ethical guidelines set by the Medical Council of India (MCI) / National Medical Commission (NMC), for the benefits of the people of our State.
- ON THE ISSUE OF REGISTRATION.
The Nagaland Medical Council from the day of inception started the process of scrutiny of the degrees of allopathic doctors in our State for registration. The NMC Act 2014 mandates that all Allopathic Medical Practitioners serving or practicing in the State have to be registered with the Nagaland Medical Council (NMC). This includes allopathic doctors coming from outside the State to for health camps/practice in Clinics/Hospitals. This process of scrutiny and registration is done as to avoid few doctors masquerading as Cardiologist, Diabetologist Neurologist etc. even though their additional qualifications were not recognized by MCI/NMC. Some doctors have not come forward to have their degrees scrutinized/checked for personal reasons. The recent incident of Albert P of Dimapur Medical Hall is a reminder where proper scrutinization of degrees is required and if not done properly, it will betray the trust of patient and the public which will ultimately endanger lives. It is also pertinent to note that in the case of Albert P, he was summoned multiple times for scrutiny of his degrees but he avoided the Council with excuses. The Council have also found out that he was using the registration number of a senior doctor in the Government service. It was indeed shocking to know that he even had performed more than 20 autopsies/post-mortems. This is a serious crime and may mean either ignorance of those in authority and may even imply complicity with the individual and the case.
The Council would like to inform that all Allopathic Medical Practitioners are mandated to renew their registration after every 5 years as per the Nagaland Medical Council Act 2014 and National Medical Commission Registered Medical Practitioners (Professional Conduct) Regulation 2023.
The Council have observed that few Government doctors refused to get Registered or Renew their registration which makes it illegal for the Government to continuing employing them. The Council awaits the Government to take appropriate action.
Till date, the Council has registered 1480 allopathic doctors who can practice modern medicine in Nagaland. The Council is distressed by the fact that unemployment among qualified doctors has become a serious issue in our State. Taking our population as approximate 25 lakhs our doctor patient ratio is around 1: 1600. This is a ratio better than what exists in many States in India.
The Council also inform that Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) must pass the mandatory FMG exam conducted by the National Board of Examination (NBE) to practice in India. It is alleged that some Private Hospitals are employing unqualified doctors/quacks. The Health Establishment Authority needs to investigate this situation and take appropriate action - ON THE ISSUE OF ETHICAL PRACTICE:
The Medical Council of the State stands for ethical practice by those in this profession. In the past, there was no proper checks on doctors indulging in unethical practices.
Unethical practice which includes dishonesty, negligence of duty, sexual harassment by healthcare professionals at the work place, incompetency etc. The Council has set out to make sure that these unethical practices are curbed in our State.
2.1 PRIVATE PRACTICE BY GOVERNMENT DOCTORS AFTER AVAILING NON-PRACTICING ALLOWANCES (NPA).
Private practice by Government doctors after availing NPA has become a hot topic of contention. Government doctors are paid a big salary to make sure they give proper health care and services to the public. From the basic pay, 20% is added to the pay. This includes additions to HRA, DA, ADA etc. Above this, NPA is pensionable. The result is that the salary of a junior doctor in the State Government is at par with a senior Government servant in other departments. Despite this, many Government doctors neglect their duties and indulge in private practice. As a result of this practices they deny the people especially those in the peripheries as they practice in the major towns like Kohima, Dimapur, Mokokchung etc. The Council is concerned that there is equitable healthcare delivery to all sections of the society. Private practices can deny the very poor and needy this right.
Private practice after availing NPA is wrong and unethical, the Government of Nagaland forbids it, yet many doctors practices with impunity.
The authorities do not take action even when compelling evidence exist on paper. The Council would like to go on record that even when letters were given to the departments by the Lokayukta, those in authority, in the department and the Government of the State choose to ignore this very important issue.
Private practice by the Government doctors also attracts legal action, especially when patients go to court for negligence or misconduct. The Council would like to re-iterate that private practice by the Government doctors is wrong and will result in significant danger to doctors specially in this age of ligations and lawsuits. The Council also appeals to those in authority to take proper measures to control this evil unethical practice in the profession.
The Medical Council is distressed by the fact that there are alleged cases of medical negligence in the State. Yes, our infant and maternal morality have come down. However, medical negligence, especially because of doctors who are not there at the place of posting is a common and serious problem. This is further accentuated by the fact that most specialist are not available at their place of posting but are allegedly doing their private practice in the major towns. This problem is huge, complicated and needs systematic action to tackle. Wilful negligence by those in both the Government and Private sector needs to be addressed.
The Council would like to inform the public that when such cases of medical negligence occur, the public can write to the Council. Such cases will be investigated and justice dispensed.
2.2 SEXUAL MISBEHAVIOUR AT THE WORKPLACE
This is again a very common issue being faced by the public. The Council is well aware of many such incidents that have occurred where doctors have sexually misbehaved with the patients. These stories have been more common prior to the formation of the Medical Council of the State. Sadly, such allegations continue to occur. The Council would like to go on record and state that sexual misbehavior by the doctors at the workplace are serious, unethical and criminal offence. The Council would like to take this opportunity to warn our fraternity that such behavior will attract not only a criminal case but may also result to Registration being suspended or cancelled. For the people of the general public, the Council would like to state that if they face sexual harassment by doctors (both Government of Private) at the workplace, please write to the Council and appropriate action will be taken. The complaint can be addressed to either the President of the Council or the Ethical committee Convenor of the State Council. These complaints can also be sent to us via our e-mail address or by hard copy to our office at Para Medical colony at Kohima.
The Medical Council of the State assures our public that we will do our duty to the fraternity of doctors and for the welfare of the public to the best of our ability with fairness and diligence. The Council also request for public support to improve the healthcare delivery in our State.
Nagaland Medical Council
nagamedcouncil@gmail.com