Shillong, May 9: Complying with an order passed by the Meghalaya High Court, a meeting was convened to resolve the present crisis in the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

The meeting was chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary RV Suchiang in presence of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare Gayatri Mishra and state’s Health Secretary Pravin Bakshi.

NEIGRIHMS Director, Dr DM Thappa and Head of Department Cardiology Dr Animesh Mishra besides other doctors and representatives from the Amrit pharmacy attended the meeting.

But the outcome of the meeting was not known. None was willing to speak stating the matter is sub-judice and the report should be submitted to the Court.

Sources informed that during the meeting, the cardiology department was asked to submit a list of equipments required for treatment to the Amrit pharmacy so that it can procure within 5-6 hours.

However on the same day when the meeting was convened by the Additional Chief Secretary, tension prevailed at NEIGRIHMS as the condition of a 52 year old patient was said to be critical.

Resident doctors rushed to the director’s office and the Health Secretary, Bakshi also rushed to the institute.

Meanwhile, the authorities tried to get the required equipments from the pharmacy outside the hospital.

It was also informed that few diagnostic angiography was done but the critical care could not be attended to.

The Meghalaya High Court has directed the NEIGRIHMS authority to work out a formula and ensure that surgeries in the cardiology department should resume from Thursday.

The order was passed by the division bench headed by the Chief Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir following the postponement of about 34 surgeries due to internal differences between the cardiology department and the authorities of NEIGRIHMS.

The Court has also directed the need to come up with a long term solution so that the present situation may not rise again in the future.

Earlier surgery of patients could not be conducted in the Cardiology department of NEIGRIHMS due to non availability of required equipments such stents, and pacemakers.

The NEIGRIHMS administration claimed that the services in the cardiology department were shutdown because the head of the Cardiology department was not co-operating with the administration with regards to making treatment of poor patients affordable as per the Union ministry of health and family welfare regulations.

But Dr Mishra, the head of Cardiology department, denied the allegations, stating that there was not a single patient who was operated in NEIGRIHMS by violating the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) guidelines.

Dr Mishra invited patients from Meghalaya and outside to file valid complaints, if they have found that the department of Cardiology has violated the NPPA guidelines.