Govt seeks MCI nod for four new private medical colleges

Also hopes to start at least three new govt medical colleges next year

The government has recommended to the Medical Council of India (MCI) to permit opening four new private medical colleges in the State, including the one by Siddartha group of institutions owned by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara, Minister of State for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil said here on Tuesday.

The Siddartha Academy of Higher Education and East West Institute have proposed to open the colleges in Bengaluru, while Kanachur and Sambhram institutes have applied to open the colleges in Mangaluru and Kolar districts respectively.

The government has approved the proposals and recommended to the MCI that the permission be granted.

This apart, the Medical Education department has been making efforts to open at least three of the six new government medical colleges in the next academic year.

Work on constructing the buildings is under way. The colleges will come up in Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Uttara Kannada, Koppal, Gadag and Kalaburagi districts. Each college is proposed to have 150 MBBS seats.

The construction of buildings for colleges in Koppal, Gadag and Kalaburagi is likely to be completed by this financial year, but starting the colleges will depend on the MCI’s permission.

The department recently wrote a letter of intent to the MCI, which has to issue the letter of permission to start the college. MCI officials are expected to conduct a field inspection next March, the minister explained.

The department has also sought the government’s permission to start its own engineering wing so that civil works pertaining to hospitals and colleges could be completed without delay, he said.

Asked about the increase in postgraduate medical seats, Patil said the department aimed to enhance the intake by at least 25 per cent. Efforts are being made to increase the seats in both government and private medical colleges, he said.

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) has proposed to the Union government to set up another trauma centre in Bengaluru.

For its part, the government has already agreed to provide land for this purpose. Starting a trauma centre will considerably reduce the burden on the existing facility, Patil hoped.

The government has sought monetary assistance from the Centre to instal four more machines for conducting radiation test at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru.

Currently, the waiting period for radiation test at the hospital is three weeks.

It will come down to nil if additional machines are installed. Similarly, steps are being taken to reduce the waiting time for conducting the CT scan.

There are also plans to open disease-wise outpatient department at Kidwai for the convenience of patients, he added.