Super-speciality medical seats falling vacant year after year not a healthy sign, caution specialists

With 141 of the 215 super-speciality medical seats allocated for service candidates remaining vacant after the first round of counselling in Tamil Nadu, there are apprehensions that any lapse by the State authorities will lead to a large number of speciality seats going unfilled, as seen last year.

A section of senior doctors are cautioning that super-speciality seats falling vacant year after year will impact the State’s government healthcare services in the long run. It will result in a dip in the number of government doctors in certain essential super specialities such as neurosurgery, nephrology, cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery and surgical gastroenterology, thereby affecting patient care. Out of the total 422 DM/MCh seats, 215 seats are allocated to in-service reservation as Tamil Nadu reserves 50% of its super speciality seats for in-service candidates.