After an 11-year wait, South Mumbai is set to have a government-run medical college. The state medical education department has approved the establishment of the college on the premises of the state-run Gokuldas Tejpal Hospital. This move will add 100 medical seats and improve access to advanced super-speciality treatment for patients in South Mumbai.
In 2011, the government announced the establishment of a new medical college at GT Hospital, the first since Independence. The college aimed to offer basic MBBS degree, with plans for future upgrades to post-graduate and super-specialty programmes. Later, in 2012, it became an alternative after offices were relocated due to a massive fire at Mantralaya on June 21, 2012, which damaged nearly four floors.
Finally, last week, the state government gave the long-pending green signal to start the medical college.
“Both state-run GT Hospital and Cama Albless Hospital meet the 500-bed hospital requirement to initiate a medical college. But due to bureaucratic apathy and red-tapism, there was a delay of over a decade to get the approval,” said a senior officer from medical education department. The department has plans to enroll 100 students.
With 1,300 beds, JJ Hospital meets National Medical Council (NMC) norms for Grant Medical College’s 250 medical seats. The three attached hospitals — St. George Hospital, GT Hospital and Cama Albless Hospital — can also be utilised for the new medical college. The medical education department has begun obtaining necessary permissions from the NMC to establish the college.
This new medical college will help provide superior medical care, access to state-of-the-art equipment, and expertise from specialist doctors. Speaking about it, Suresh Yadav, a patient advocate, pointed out that South Mumbai also has a large number of slum clusters in Colaba and Cuffe Parade, who often suffer due to the unavailability of tertiary-care government hospitals. “St George, GT, or Cama hospitals in the south don’t have super-specialty doctors. In severe cases, most patients are referred to JJ Hospital. It has been a long-standing demand for us to start the medical college, which will provide quality treatment,” he said.
Part of the state’s initiative to tackle healthcare infrastructure and doctor shortages, the GT Hospital medical college complements the recently approved 13 state-run medical colleges.
Dr Pravin Shingare, former director, DMER, under whose tenure the medical college was proposed, welcomed the decision. “A government medical college is crucial, surpassing general hospitals, as it not only educates future doctors but enhances patient care, providing advanced treatments and specialized healthcare services for comprehensive well-being,” he said. “There is a need for a larger number of medical seats to provide better and timely treatment to patients,” he added.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First published on: 02-12-2023 at 01:32 IST
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