New Delhi: The Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Ghulam Nabi Azad has called upon states to expedite reforms in medical education sector.

Addressing the two days State Health Secretaries' meeting here today, Azad said that, "The Ministry and Medical Council of India (MCI) has recently amended post graduate medical education regulations wherein the teacher student ratio has been revised from 1:1 to 1:2."

The MCI regulations were amended in order to enable the medical colleges to increase seats in postgraduate medical courses.

The Health Ministry and the MCI have requested all the State governments to instruct the government medical colleges in their states to send the information with regard to availability of teaching faculty.

"I would request all the State governments to send the details of teaching faculty in government medical colleges in their respective States at the earliest, so that the same can be considered for increase of postgraduate seats in the light of amended PG regulations," said Azad.

On the same front the Health Minister informed that the basic formalities of introducing a three and a half year course in bachelor degree in Medicine and Surgery is in place.

These doctors will work in rural areas and district hospitals with specified bed capacities can be utilized as medical schools for these courses.

The Minister informed that the MCI is holding a meeting with Vice Chancellors in the first week of February 2010 to fine tune the modalities.

He also told the Health Secretaries that the Ministry is in the process of working out strategy for checking diabetes in all people in the age group of 30-40 years in rural areas for diagnosing potential cases.

"While rural areas will require option of gluco-meter, in urban areas State governments can use laboratories to check diabetes," he said.

Recalling the assurance from Pune's local authorities during a recent visit, Azad said that "The local authorities have promised to cover entire district to diagnose people suffering from diabetes and blood pressure. The other states should emulate this example."

Azad emphasized the need to augment efforts in the areas of reproductive and child health, vector borne diseases, leprosy elimination and non-communicable diseases.

He informed that he has asked the Ministry to develop a system for tracking pregnant mother and children to ascertain the status of ante-natal and post-natal care and institution delivery and immunization of the children.

Earlier Minister of State Dinesh Trivedi, Secretary, Health, Ms. K. Sujatha Rao welcomed the participants.

The two-day meeting will discuss disease control programmes, maternal and child health, immunization, PMSSY and medical education issues, as well as, new initiatives will be discussed in detail and action plans chalked-out for carrying them forward.