Bhubaneswar, Jul 11: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued notices to 70 medical colleges across the country, including the Government Medical Colleges at Sundargarh and Phulbani, citing deficiencies in infrastructure and faculty as per the Commission's prescribed norms.

The notices, issued on July 6, state that the institutions have failed to fully comply with the NMC's guidelines regarding essential infrastructure and academic requirements. The Commission has directed the colleges to install 25 CCTV cameras on their campuses and integrate them with the NMC's Command and Control Centre through a Network Video Recorder (NVR) system.

The NMC has also instructed the colleges to immediately address the shortage of teaching faculty. Sources said the Commission had earlier issued several reminders on the matter, but the institutions allegedly failed to take the required corrective measures.

The Government Medical College and Hospital at Shankara in Sundargarh district, established over 21 acres at a cost of ₹417.77 crore under NTPC Darlipali's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, started MBBS classes in the 2022-23 academic session. Full-fledged patient care services began in March 2024.

The 500-bed tertiary healthcare facility was envisioned to provide advanced medical care to residents of Sundargarh and neighbouring districts, as well as patients from the adjoining states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. However, despite having modern infrastructure and advanced medical equipment, the hospital continues to struggle due to a shortage of specialist doctors and technical personnel required to operate the facilities.

As a result, several sophisticated medical systems remain underutilised, while many departments are yet to function to their full capacity. Although outpatient and inpatient services are operational, key facilities such as the ICU, Trauma Care Centre, Cardiology, and Neurology departments are yet to become fully functional.

The NMC's notice is expected to increase pressure on the concerned authorities to rectify the deficiencies at the earliest to ensure compliance with national medical education and healthcare standards.