4 medical colleges to boost health infra in Punjab

Tribune News Service

Mohali, June 9

Health infrastructure in the state is set to get a boost with the creation of four new government medical colleges at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore in Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Malerkotla, OP Soni, Medical Education and Research Minister, said today.

Talking to the media after laying the foundation stone of the boundary wall of Dr BR Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Mohali, Soni said there would be no dearth of doctors in Punjab as soon, about 500 additional doctors would pass out every year from the upcoming government medical colleges. He said presently, there were around 1,400 MBBS seats in medical colleges (both private and government) of Punjab which would witness an increase of 500 with the opening of the four medical colleges,

Land has been made available for all the colleges and AIMS, Mohali, is expected to be operationalised first. Around 80 per cent of the faculty has been recruited for the college and the process is on for recruitment of paramedics and support staff. “The NMC inspection has been applied and we are hoping to start the first batch of MBBS this year,” he said. The medical college building will house an academic block, four lecture theatres, labs, girls/boys/hostels, faculty residences, library, auditorium as well as ample space for indoor play area/community centre.

Around Rs 325 crore would be spent on infrastructure while Rs 50 crore would be spent on high-tech equipment. The spade work was over and tenders would be floated for the construction of medical college and hospital building in a fortnight, said Soni.

Meanwhile, consultants had been approved for Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala medical colleges and designs were being reviewed. Once the building designs were finalised, the tenders would be floated, he said.