The State Association of Medical and Dental College Teachers, IGMC, Shimla, has expressed concern and resentment over recent administrative orders, proposals and departmental realignments directing the transfer of faculty members, departments and clinical responsibilities from the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Hospital to the Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialties (AIMSS), Chamiyana.
The association alleged that orders had been issued to shift the Departments of Anaesthesia and Radiology to the super-speciality hospital. Several super-speciality departments have already been moved from the IGMC to the Chamiyana hospital.
It has urged the government to put on hold all proposed and pending transfers of faculty, units and departments from the IGMC to the AIMSS until an objective review is conducted.
It has also sought a re-evaluation of recent redeployment and transfer orders to ensure compliance with established service rules and institutional requirements. The association has threatened to launch protests if its concerns are not addressed.
While reiterating that it was not opposed to strengthening and expanding the super-speciality hospital, the association said this should not come at the cost of dismantling the IGMC, the state’s premier medical institution.
“A new establishment must complement the existing healthcare network through independent capacity building, not by systematically dismantling the foundational institution that sustains it,” it said.
The association said that the IGMC was not merely another tertiary care hospital but the academic backbone for undergraduate (MBBS) and postgraduate (MD/MS) medical education, clinical research and specialised healthcare delivery in the state.
t claimed that transferring experienced faculty members and clinicians from the IGMC to the Chamiyana hospital would not increase the overall pool of specialists and would compromise the operational bandwidth of both institutions.
Staffing requirements at Chamiyana, it said, should be met through regular direct recruitment of faculty, nursing officers, paramedical staff and technicians rather than by drawing personnel from the IGMC.
The association said that the faculty strength at the IGMC was structured in accordance with the statutory norms of the National Medical Commission (NMC).
It alleged that arbitrary transfers and deputations could bring faculty strength below the mandatory minimum, jeopardising the recognition of MBBS and MD/MS seats, compromising clinical residency training and undermining the academic standing built by the institution over several decades.
