Rajasthan govt's move to shift cancer institute to RIMS triggers concerns: 26 PG seats at risk, Doctors mull VRS

Jaipur: The recent decision of the Rajasthan Government to transfer the State Cancer Institute (SCI), till now operating under SMS Medical College, to the Rajasthan Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) has raised concerns over the future of the doctors working at the institute, the postgraduate medical seats, and patient care. The doctors, who are currently serving in SCI, were appointed under SMS Medical College. Now, with the handover of the institute to RIMS, the doctors have reportedly made it clear that they will not work under RIMS. Speaking to Dainik Bhaskar, many doctors said that they will apply for voluntary retirement (VRS) if they are sent to work at RIMS. This may ultimately affect the cancer patients who depend on SCI for their treatment. With the transfer of doctors, VRS, or temporary arrangements, the treatment of these patients may be disrupted. Further, with the proposed transfer, the future of postgraduate medical seats at the institute is also facing uncertainty, as RIMS now might need to get re-recognised for these seats by the National Medical Commission (NMC). Also Read: 10-year-old cancer patient bitten by rat at Jaipur Hospital dies, Probe Ordered The SCI was set up in 2015 under the SMS Medical College under the NPCDCS scheme of the Government of India. Under this scheme, any college could be considered for the institute only if it had 5 years of experience in cancer treatment. Only SMS Medical College could fulfill this condition in Rajasthan at that time and therefore, the Cancer Institute was set up under SMS Medical College. Between the years 2016-2020, the Central Government gave assistance of Rs 120 crore for SCI. However, recently, in the cabinet meeting of the Rajasthan Government, it was decided to remove SCI from SMS Medical College and hand it over to another institute, RIMS. Due to this, the SMS Medical College will now be without a cancer department, and the Medical Education Department will have to set up a new cancer unit again. This is likely to make the distribution of doctors and resources more complicated. Further, the decision is also likely to impact the cancer patients, PG medical students, and senior doctors. PG Medical Seats Face Uncertainty: Until the year 2017, there were only 3 PG seats in Cancer at SMS Medical College. These seats included 1 Radio Oncology seat and 2 Surgical Oncology seats. However, in the last 3 years, NMC increased the seats in view of the load of patients. Currently, there are altogether 26 PG medical seats at SCI. The list includes 16 seats in Radio Oncology, 2 seats in Medical Oncology, and 8 seats in Surgical Oncology. Dainik Bhaskar has reported that with the handover of SCI to RIMS, it will have to secure re-recognition from NMC. Otherwise, these PG medical seats may get cancelled. Why are Doctors unwilling to work under RIMS? Doctors of SMS Medical College are allowed to do private practice. However, with RIMS being a non-private-practising institute, the doctors working here cannot see patients outside. This is one of the reasons why doctors are unwilling to work under RIMS, Bhaskar has reported.