Monday Musing
[ Bengia Ajum ]
The Tomo Riba Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (TRIHMS), established in 2017, started the first academic session in 2018 with 50 students in the first batch.
Formerly known as a general hospital, it was converted into a medical college. Since then, the hospital has seen gradual improvement in the facilities.
The recent installation of a cardiac cath lab at the TRIHMS is considered to be a major milestone in the health sector in the state. A cath lab is an advanced dynamic radiological imaging system wherein both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures can be done rapidly. It is an invasive interventional tool in which interventions are done in local anaesthesia with the help of sheath, catheter, wire, balloons, and other enumerable accessories.
Dr Rinchin Dorjee Megeji, associate professor of cardiology at the TRIHMS, said that “the addition of state-of-the-art cath lab will save numerous lives and also avoid unnecessary travel and mental and financial harassment because the lifesaving procedures are now available at the patients’ doorsteps.”
“The public of Arunachal Pradesh will now not be deprived of quality emergency health services, which was a distant dream till a few months back. It will gradually but surely change the face of healthcare services of the state,” said Dr Megeji.
He informed that, with the installation of the cath lab, procedures such as diagnostic coronary angiography, therapeutic angioplasty for coronary artery disease such as acute coronary syndrome (heart attacks), temporary and permanent pacemakers for electrical abnormalities of the heart, device closures of holes of heart, aortic grafting for aortic aneurysm/dissection, peripheral angioplasty for peripheral artery disease, and many such lifesaving procedures can be performed at the TRIHMS.
The infrastructures are also slowly picking up pace. In Block-II, the ground floor and the first and the second floors are functional, while the third and the fourth are completed and will be functional when adequate manpower is in place. The hospital authorities want some modification in the fifth and the sixth floors, which are not in the BOQ.
The works on other major infrastructures are also picking up pace.
“The academic block is 80 percent completed and should be ready for use within one year. The auditorium also is expected to be ready in the next six months,” said an official of the TRIHMS.
Also, much to the relief of the students, some of the hostels have also been completed.
The 250-bedded six-storey hostel for MBBS girl students has been completed and students are already residing there. The 250-bedded six-storey hostel for MBBS boys is expected to be completed within six months.
Further, a 60-bedded new nursing hostel will be ready next year.
While the infrastructures are seeing improvement, manpower continues to be an area of concern. As of now, the manpower is just enough to run the hospital, but in the years to come, additional human resource, in terms of faculties, nursing officers, lab technicians, OT technicians, radiology technicians, ICU technicians, sanitary staff, security guards, ward attendants (male/female), etc, will be required to meet the demands of the medical college.
The manpower required for 100 MBBS students has already been placed before the competent authority and is awaiting clearance.
There is a need for additional manpower to run the ICU, the NICU/SNCU (doctor, nurses, and supporting staff).
The increase in the MBBS seats from 50 to 100 will require additional facilities, as per NMC guidelines. Further, creation of the super specialty department will also require additional infrastructure of a separate super specialty block with facilities for renal transplant, liver transplant, heart surgeries, etc.
At present, the TRIHMS has a 450 bed capacity, and once it becomes fully functional, the total bed capacity will be 750.
Apart from MBBS, the TRIHMS offers courses in diploma and diplomate of national board in anaesthesiology, obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics, and radiology. BSc nursing course is also offered within the TRIHMS campus.
In the clinical section, 18 departments are fully functional, while eight pre-clinical and para-clinical departments are fully functional at the TRIHMS.
The doctors of the TRIHMS have credited Chief Minister Pema Khandu for the improvement the medical college is witnessing.
“He is the chairman of the governing council, TRIHMS. Every major and important decision of TRIHMS is directly presided under his leadership. He has been the guiding force behind tremendous changes that are seen today in TRIHMS. Because of his sincere and continuous effort, TRIHMS has been able to procure and equip itself with the latest and best state-of-the-art facilities. All the installed equipments are of highest quality and latest technology in TRIHMS. Manpower requirements have always been a key concern, where he has taken keen interest and major decisions in the benefit of the institute. He has also been very proactive in implementation of the people-friendly CMAAY and the PMJAY,” said Dr Megeji.
The chief minister frequently visits the TRIHMS to check the progress of the works being executed there.
