Will resolve FMG issues at the earliest, says medical council Chairperson

Dr. Daggumati Sreehari Rao

Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) (interim) Chairperson Daggumati Sreehari Rao, who assumed charge on Wednesday, said a four-member committee including APMC members and Director of Medical Education has been formed to look into the issues of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), which include granting of Permanent Registrations (PRs).

He told The Hindu that while it is not yet clear how long the process will take, but a committee has been formed to speed up the process. “We have received complaints regarding the delay in the issuance of PRs to FMGs. We have also got to know that some States have issued PRs to FMGs. There is a lot of confusion because of many National Medical Commission guidelines. We will look into it,” Dr. Sreehari Rao said, adding that the committee will check the genuineness of compensatory certificates of FMGs before granting PRs.

He also pointed out that around 35,000 allopathy doctors in the State are yet to renew their registrations, which has to be done every five years. “We are planning to speed up this process as well, by sending our teams to every district. The team will be stationed there for two days, during which members can come and get their registrations renewed,” Dr. Sreehari Rao said, adding that skeletal staff in the APMC had led to the delay in renewing process.

He stressed that renewing registrations is important because until the process is completed, they cannot vote in the elections to the APMC. The council has both nominated and elected members. At present, the interim council has six members, all of whom are nominated. “If elections are to happen, all these doctors should vote, and to excercise their power to vote, their registrations have to be renewed,” he said.

It may be noted here that elections have not been held for the past 15 years. The new Chairperson also said they would resume the practice of awarding a gold medal and certificate to meritorious students and top rankers.