24 medical colleges in Tamil Nadu have replied to NMC's showcause notice, says state health minister

Salem: Health minister Ma Subramanian on Thursday said 24 out of 34 medical colleges had sent their explanations to the showcause notices issued by the National Medical Council on deficiencies in faculty and services, labs and surgeries.

"Only 10 colleges need to submit their explanations, which will be send soon," the minister said while speaking to reporters in the city.

On shortage of doctors, the minister said 2,462 doctors have been appointed and steps will be taken to fill vacancies.

During the recent NEET exam, women candidates were asked to remove their mangalsutra (thaali) before entering the centre, he said. "There was also an incident where a husband removed his wife's mangalsutra to help her write the exam, which is why we are insisting on the NEET exemption," the minister replied.

Earlier, Subramanian and tourism minister R Rajendran took part in the opening of a two-day national health mission seminar in Yercaud.

Subramanian launched three key initiatives at the event- a rehabilitation centre for mentally challenged individuals, an IVF centre for economically disadvantaged families at SGMKMCH, and a mobile application for haemophilia patients, which will assist around 1,000 individuals.

After the launch, Subramanian said PET SCAN facilities are now available in government hospitals in Salem, Coimbatore, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, and Kanchipuram, with plans to expand to five more hospitals this fiscal year. Furthermore, MRI SCAN facilities are being introduced in 17 government hospitals across the state, he said.

MPs T M Selvaganapathy and T Malaiarasan, health secretary P Senthil Kumar, Salem district collector Dr R Brinda Devi, National Health Mission director Dr A Arun Thamburaj, and medical professionals from several government hospitals participated in the event.