Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Despite high demand following Covid-19, respiratory medicine faces neglect due to a shortage of dedicated departments in many medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh.
Only three government medical colleges offer the branch at postgraduate level, in Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur. This neglect persists while Madhya Pradesh runs the National Tuberculosis Elimination Progamme (NTEP) aiming at eliminating TB in the state.
Indian Medical Association (IMA) Madhya Pradesh Chapter general secretary Dr Kuldeep Gupta said respiratory medicine has been excluded from the mandatory departments required by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for new medical colleges, raising concern over specialised care. He said the rise in multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) indicates a growing crisis.
While TB elimination dominates the agenda, respiratory medicine, which is crucial for managing long-term post-TB lung disease such as fibrosis and COPD, is neglected in the state. It will defeat the purpose of NTEP in MP, Gupta said.
.jpg)
Dr Lokendra Dave, head of department, respiratory medicine, Government Medical College, said the branch continues to be neglected in medical colleges in MP even after the Covid wave. He said there is high demand for specialised care in lung-related diseases despite the field being seen as emerging.
There are only 15 to 17 seats across the three government medical colleges in Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur. The onus is on the state health department to focus on this issue, Dave said.
