Quack arrested for operating clinic in Thane

Thane: The Thane police on Friday arrested a quack for allegedly running a clinic despite not being qualified for it. He was found administering medications and charging patients excessively. 

According to the PTI report, the police arrested Abdul Farid alias Saddam Sharif Khan (34), a resident of Gaibi Nagar in Bhiwandi town, in the early hours of the day, an official with the Shanti Nagar police station said. 

The arrest followed a raid by medical officers from the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation, who discovered that Khan’s clinic was being run without a valid permit. The accused was found administering medications and charging patients excessively.

Also Read:Fight against Quackery: 10 quacks caught red-handed by Telangana State Medical Council

The accused treated patients with medicines and charged them exorbitantly, he said.

Based on a complaint by medical officers, an FIR was registered against the accused under sections 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4)(cheating), and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Maharashtra Medical Practitioners Act, 1961, the official said, news agency PTI reported.

Also Read:Woman poses as AIIMS Delhi Cardiologist, dupes IT professional with promise of marriage

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HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, Pfizer join hands to launch Centre of Excellence for Adult Vaccination

New Delhi: In a country where vaccination is often associated only with childhood immunisation and the need for adult vaccines is often overlooked, HCMCT Manipal Hospital and Pfizer India have collaborated to launch a dedicated Centre for adult vaccination at HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi, strengthening the delivery of adult vaccines. 

The Centre is focused on improving patient care by providing comprehensive adult vaccination services against various vaccine-preventable diseases, including Pneumococcal disease, Influenza, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and Hepatitis A and B, among others.

In India, 95% of vaccine-preventable disease deaths occur in adults1, despite adult vaccination being a proven solution to enhance quality of life. The Centre will educate healthcare professionals on the benefits of timely adult vaccination, focusing individuals who are at-risk of chronic health conditions like COPD, Asthma, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Kidney Disease, Liver Cirrhosis, and those with additional risk factors like smoking, pollution exposure, or those aged 50 years or older, will also benefit from discussing adult vaccination with healthcare practitioners as a preventive healthcare measure.

Also Read:72-year-old brain-dead woman gives new life to five with organ, tissue donation at HCMCT Manipal Hospital

Dr Ankita Baidya, Consultant Infectious Disease, HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi said, “Vaccine-Preventable diseases have a major impact on individuals and communities. Adult vaccination is a cornerstone of preventive medicine, offering a simple yet powerful way to safeguard against preventable diseases.

This adult vaccination centre will play an important role in promoting adult vaccine awareness, addressing hesitancy, and ensuring equitable access to life-saving vaccines, ultimately strengthening the public health infrastructure. Expanding adult vaccination in India can help reduce disease burden, protect vulnerable populations, and bring in herd immunity.”

Speaking on the launch, Ms. Viji Varghese, Hospital Director, HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, New Delhi said, “As we launch our Centre for Adult Vaccination in collaboration with Pfizer, we aim to strengthen our healthcare system but to also evolve the way we protect our communities. With this centre, we will provide vaccination services for adults to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases in India. This reflects our commitment towards delivering comprehensive care and transforming public health through innovation, awareness, and accessibility to create a healthier future for everyone.”

Dr Santosh Taur, Director Medical Affairs, Pfizer Vaccines, said, “Pfizer is firmly committed to promoting public health and speeding up the vaccination process as a vital and effective strategy to protect the community from infections. Our collaboration with Manipal Hospital reinforces our dedication to preventive health by expanding access to adult vaccinations, ensuring robust protection against prevalent vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly respiratory infections.

The establishment of this Centre represents a significant milestone in our efforts to support the nation’s healthcare infrastructure. It aims to provide healthcare practitioners and patients with critical information necessary for informed healthcare decisions, particularly regarding immunization.”

Through this initiative, Pfizer and HCMCT Manipal Hospital also aspire to enhance patient education and provide counselling to address patient concerns and emphasize the long-term health benefits that public health measures, such as vaccines, can offer. This initiative will include extensive training modules and capacity-building efforts, complemented by access to guidelines and protocol recommendations for adult vaccination.

Also Read:8.5 kg Large Mass removed from ovary of 13-year-old girl at Manipal Hospital

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MBBS Now in Local Languages including Hindi! NMC allows Teaching, Learning, Assessment Using Bilingual Mode

New Delhi: Changing its earlier stand regarding MBBS studies in local languages, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has now allowed teaching learning and assessment using bilingual mode along with the English language.

NMC mentioned this in the recently released Competency-Based Medical Education Regulations (CBME) 2024, which laid down the rules and regulations regarding the MBBS course.

Specifying the “Phase Wise Training and Time Distribution for Professional Development”, the Apex Medical Commission mentioned that “Teaching learning and assessment may be carried out using bilingual mode ( Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu) along with English language.”

Therefore, from now on, students can undergo undergraduate medical education i.e. MBBS course in local languages such as Assamese, Bangla, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu also.

NMC has now encouraged providing MBBS education in regional languages including Hindi, when previously in 2021, the Apex Medical Commission had clarified that MBBS courses would not be feasible and such courses would not receive recognition from the NMC.

Back then, the plan of providing medical education in Hindi was being considered in both Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. However, clarifying that no State Government had approached the Commission with such a proposal, NMC had further added that it did not have any plans of amending the norms for allowing medicine courses in any other language except for English.

Also Read: MBBS in Hindi Not to be Recognized: NMC

However, following this, in 2022, the Union Government also proposed implementing Hindi or regional languages as a medium of instruction for professional courses including MBBS.

The Madhya Pradesh Government decided to teach three MBBS subjects- anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry in Hindi to the first-year MBBS students in all government medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh.

Apart from this, the Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah had also launched the first MBBS course in Hindi in the country, in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. 

This led to a Hindi vs English controversy in the medical education sector as members of the medical fraternity expressed their concern that running MBBS courses in local languages such as Hindi might result in worsening the quality of medical education in India.

Issuing a Press Release, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) had also expressed similar opinions regarding the initiative and expressed the possibility that MBBS in Hindu might harm the national interest in the long run.

Referring to the Hindi vs English debate that has been going on in the country for a long time, FAIMA mentioned in the release, “The moot point here is producing world class doctors to serve our people while simultaneously ensuring that the services sector is strengthened as doctors from India are serving in different countries contributing to the prestige of our country.”

Therefore, alleging that the recent push by the Central Government towards Hindi translation of medical textbooks is a policy framed with good intent but bad planning, FAIMA had pointed out, “The current issue of Hindi translation of medical textbook is fraught with many problems. Primary among them is the standardisation of medical lexicon into Hindi and producing a set of doctors who will always face some issues while mingling with their peers abroad. While the example of some European countries is given to justify the step we tend to forget that India is known world over for its booming BP0 sector which was possible only because of thrust on English language.”

Also Read: MBBS in Hindi may harm National Interest in Long Run: FAIMA

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Centre allocates 4 MBBS seats for civilian victims of terrorism, seeks nomination before Sept 17

New Delhi: For the spouses and children of civilian victims of terrorism, the Central government has earmarked four MBBS seats for the academic year 2024-25 in various medical colleges and institutes. The govt has sought nominations before September 17.

According to ANI report, of the four MBBS seats, one each will be allocated to Bihar’s Gaya-based AN Magadh Medical College and Maharashtra’s Mumbai-based Grant Medical College, while two seats will be allocated to Chhattisgarh’s Raipur-based Pt. JNM Medical College.

These four MBBS seats will be allocated to the spouse and children of the victims of terrorism from the Central pool. The candidate must either be spouse or children of the deceased or disabled civilian victim of terrorism.

As per the eligibility criteria, the candidate must have completed 17 years of age at the time of admission or will complete that age on or before December 31 of the year of his or her admission to the first year of the Undergraduate Medical Course and is an Indian National.

As per Graduate Medical Education Regulation of National Medical Commission, the candidate must have passed in subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Bio-Technology and English individually and must have obtained a minimum of 50 per cent marks (40 per cent for SC/ST /OBC and 45 per cent for Gen-PH and 40 per cent for SC-PWD/ST-PWD/OBC-PWD (persons with disability) category candidates) taken together in Physics, Chemistry, Biology at the qualifying examination of 12th class.

As per Graduate Medical Education Regulations of Nationa Medical Commission, it shall be necessary for the candidates to obtain minimum marks at 50th percentile at NEET (UG)- 2024

However, in respect of candidates belonging to Schedule Castes Schedule Tribes and Other Backward Classes the minimum marks shall be at 40th percentile. In respect of candidates with special disability, the minimum marks shall be at 45th percentile. The percentile shall be determined on the basis of highest marks secured in the All India common merit list in National eligibility Cum Entrance Test for admission to MBBS/BDS courses.

Priority will be given to the Children whose both parents have been killed by terrorists; children of families whose sole bread earners has been killed by terrorists; and wards of victims with permanent disability and serious injury caused by terrorist operations.

It is requested that applications alongwith all documents, duly attested by Home Department of the concerned state and UT of eligible candidates under the category of civilian terrorist victims, be sent latest by September 17, 2024, by speed post or registered post to the CTCR diviaion of the MHA.

It is clarified that only the application received by September 17, 2024 in the MHA will be considered for allotment of the MBBS seats.

The MHA pointed out that “no extension of the last date and no reminder will be issued.”

Ministry Home Home Affairs (MHA) conveyed the decision taken by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to the chief secretaries of all states and the Union Territories asking them for the wide publicity of the move.

The MHA’s written communication, issued on August 23, urges that the state governments and the UT administrations should give wide publicity while inviting applications from eligible candidates for allocation of MBBS seats for civilian victims of terrorism.

Also Read:Altogether 106434 MBBS Seats get NMC Renewal Permission for This Year, Here is complete list

Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalisation (CTCR) division of the MHA issued the letter referring to the health ministry’s August 13 decision, conveying that “during the academic year 2024-25, four MBBS seats from the Central Pool has been earmarked in the various medical colleges and institutes for nomination of candidates by the Ministry of Home Affairs from the category of civilian victims of terrorism.”

Also Read:2 More Maha Medical Colleges Get NMC Nod for 50 MBBS Seats Each

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