"Appointment of Neurosurgeon in SMCH fulfils long-standing demand," Dr. Babul Bezbaruah; He thanks CM, DC, Guardian Minister

Yesterday, in the Cabinet meeting, the proposal sent by Dr Babul Bezbaruah to appoint neurosurgeon, Dr Sambuddha Dhar was approved. Neurosurgery is one such department that the medical fraternity, as well as the general public have been demanding for a very long period of time. Several attempts were made in the past to appoint a neurosurgeon in Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) but eventually, the doctors refused to join.

Explaining the nuances that resulted in Cabinet’s approval to appoint Dr. Sambuddha Dhar, Principal of SMCH, Dr. Babul Bezbaruah revealed that former Principal of SMCH, Dr. SS Dhar had reached out to him with the recommendation. “The former Principal informed me that Dr. Sambuddha Dhar is willing to join SMCH provided we are ready to accept the terms and conditions. I immediately made a proposal and honourable deputy commissioner of Cachar, Keerthi Jalli and Guardian Minister of Cachar, Ashok Singhal took initiatives to process it,” shared the principal.

He added, “I thank the Chief Minister of Assam for approving the proposal to appoint Dr. Sambuddha Dhar. He stayed true to his promise that if we can find a doctor, he is willing to sign a blank cheque. This fulfils the long-standing demand of the 40 lakh population living in Barak Valley.”

The contract with Dr. Sambuddha Dhar will last for a year and then it will be subject to renewal. Dr. Bezbaruah is optimistic that with the appointment of a neurosurgeon, the department of neurosurgery can be gradually shaped. He has already earmarked a special unit that will have 20 beds, a special operation theatre. “A team will be formed with two faculties from the Department of Surgery and two registrars. We have decided, to start with, we will hold the OPD twice a week,” shared Dr. Bezbaruah.

Neurosurgery also known as neurological surgery or brain surgery, is the medical speciality concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, surgical treatment, and rehabilitation of disorders that affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord, central and peripheral nervous system, and cerebrovascular system. Once Dr. Sambuddha Dhar joins, the SMCH authority will make a list of equipment necessary to perform these advanced surgeries and submit a proposal to the government.

Among the various terms and conditions, one was that Dr. Sambuddha Dhar will be allowed to practice in private hospitals after 5:00 pm. Moreover, his wife, who is Diploma Holder in Opthalmology may be engaged on a contractual basis under National Health Mission as per existing guidelines. Also, Dhar said he will charge a consultation fee of Rs 4,00,000 per month. “We have agreed to meet the expectations. We had similar discussions with other doctors and most of them were asked for Rs 15 lakh, Rs 20 lakh. Dr. Sambuddha Dhar’s expectations were not astronomical and something that the cabinet approved,” shared Dr. Babul Bezbaruah.

Most of the Neurosurgical cases that SMCH encounters on a daily basis are accident-related cases, spine injuries, brain strokes. Though working hours for Dhar ends at 5:00 PM, as per the contract, he shall make himself available on call in case of an emergency. “See, he is not going to be the only one in the department. They can coordinate among doctors, in case of an emergency, and if surgery needs to be performed, he will make himself available. We don’t see that as a problem,” asserted Dr. Babul Bezbaruah.

Sharing her reaction, Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli expressed her gratitude to Cachar Guardian Minister Ashok Singhal, Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma and Health Minister Keshab Mahanta for the state government’s initiative of appointing a neurologist at Silchar Medical College and Hospital. She said Cachar Guardian Minister Ashok Singhal had taken personal interest and followed up constantly to ensure the appointment of a neurologist at SMCH and thanked the Minister for his pro-active approach and commitment to solve long pending issues of Cachar district.

Construction of Cath Lab is going on in SMCH and that is another long pending demand of the people of Barak Valley. Dr. Babul Bezbaruah informed that once the civil work is completed, the machine will be shipped from the Netherlands. “We expect the Cath Lab to be ready for angioplasty and angiogram in the next three months,” he shared.

Superintendent of Silchar Medical College and Hospital Dr. Abhijit Swami and vice-principal Dr. Bhaskar Gupta also attended the press conference.