Shillong, Sept 29: Dr. Nalin Mehta, the newly-appointed Director of North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) has his priorities well sorted out as soon as he joined the premier institution earlier this month. He said his priority is to the people of Meghalaya and the neighbouring states, to whom the primarily hospital caters to, and it starts with ensuring the basics are taken care of, such as hiring staff.
His first priority is to fill the vacant posts in the institution as NEIGRIHMS is reeling with acute staff shortage. “Currently, we are facing an acute shortage of staff in various categories and I aim to address these deficiencies including recruitment process in a couple of months if there is no emergent situation like the third wave of Covid-19,” said Dr. Mehta.
His second priority is to complete the infrastructure in the hospital. There are other projects like the Regional Cancer Center and the new institution building which had been stalled because of COVID-19 pandemic. He said without infrastructure expansion becomes a little difficult.
Dr. Mehta informed that the construction for the much awaited Regional Cancer Centre is well underway, however it is running a bit behind schedule due to stalling of work due to Covid-19. He, however, was optimistic that within a few months the cancer centre should be underway.
The many hats of Dr Nalin Mehta
It may be mentioned that Dr Nalin Mehta, who assumed charge on September 11, 2021, was serving as Professor of Physiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, prior to his appointment as the Director of NEIGRIHMS.
He is the first Indian civilian doctor to have wintered-over for 16 months at the Indian Research Base – Maitri – in Antarctica as a member of the 12th Indian Scientific Expedition (December 1992 to April 1994) for research.
In November 1994, he was deputed to the B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, a premiere medical college and hospital at Dharan, Nepal as an expert faculty member for a government-aided project. He was instrumental in establishing the Department of Physiology and Clinical Physiology laboratories there.
Back in AIIMS after the end of his deputation, he was awarded the prestigious Fogarty International Bioethics Fellowship in 2002. On successful completion of the fellowship, he was awarded Masters’ Degree in Bioethics from the Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto.
His is a well-known name in the Bioethics circles and has been invited as an expert to various national and international forums.
He was a nominated member of the National Health Information Network set up by the Ministry of Health & Family Planning to formulate strategies for implementing the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission.
