Agartala (Tripura) [India], August 26 : Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Tuesday said that the state government is planning to introduce super-speciality and Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) courses soon.
Speaking at a programme at Pragya Bhavan where appointment letters were distributed to newly recruited Medical Officers, the Chief Minister said the move is part of the state's continued focus on strengthening medical education and healthcare services.
According to an official release, the Chief Minister said the government had approached the Tripura Public Service Commission (TPSC) for the recruitment of over 170 specialist doctors, but only 45 candidates were selected.
He congratulated the newly appointed doctors and acknowledged the challenges in meeting the demand for specialists.
"We had a demand for specialist doctors but also faced a crisis", said Tripura CM.
"We will give an advertisement again, and by this time, some more specialist doctors will have passed, so we will fill the gap", added CM.
Highlighting the progress in medical education, the Chief Minister said that while there was previously a greater demand for engineers, the need for medical professionals has now taken precedence. Currently, the state has 400 MBBS seats and 89 postgraduate seats.
"We are trying to start courses in super-speciality, and talks are underway with NMC. We have also received approval to increase seat capacity in government medical colleges by around 100 seats", mentioned Dr Manik Saha.
The Chief Minister also informed that the government has started a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course with 50 seats and is planning to introduce MDS courses soon.
"We have 50 seats for B.Sc. Nursing as well. There was a crisis of nursing staff, but now we are working to fulfil the shortage," he added.