Jharkhand’s health department will introduce Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses in five district hospitals on a pilot basis, linking postgraduate medical training with efforts to expand specialist care and strengthen hospital services outside the state capital.
The decision was discussed at a meeting chaired by health department special secretary Neha Arora on Tuesday. The hospitals for the pilot will be selected after assessing their infrastructure, medical faculty, outpatient department facilities, operation theatres, lecture rooms, libraries, medical equipment and record of major and minor surgeries.
Each hospital shortlisted for the DNB programme must have at least two eligible faculty members, along with the academic and clinical facilities required for the courses, Arora said. The department has not announced the names of the five hospitals or a launch date in the information available.
The proposed programme is intended to increase the availability of specialist doctors at district level. By placing medical training within district hospitals, the health department is also tying the expansion of specialist capacity to the hospitals’ existing clinical workload, staffing and physical infrastructure. The selection criteria indicate that hospitals will need to demonstrate both teaching readiness and the ability to provide a sufficient range of patient services.
The meeting also reviewed emergency and critical-care capacity across Jharkhand’s district hospitals. The department has sought reports from all districts on the availability of trauma centres, intensive care units and other critical-care facilities. Officials were directed to examine whether 10% to 15% of available beds could be converted into intensive care units or coronary care units, depending on local requirements.
The assessment will also cover the need for additional critical-care facilities and special newborn care units. The department’s decision to seek district-wise information suggests that the proposed expansion will be based on hospital-level assessments rather than a uniform increase across all facilities. The supplied report does not specify how many additional beds or units may ultimately be created.
The health department also reviewed the utilisation of funds under several schemes and directed officials to complete pending procedures and ensure timely use of allocated funds. Civil surgeons were asked to submit district-wise details of sanctioned and filled posts, along with requirements for doctors and other personnel at health facilities, by Friday.
Together, the DNB pilot, the critical-care review and the staffing assessment place district hospitals at the centre of Jharkhand’s current health-infrastructure planning. The immediate next steps are the submission of staffing and facility reports by the districts and the selection of five hospitals that meet the department’s infrastructure, faculty and clinical requirements.
