Amritsar Medical College to be made autonomous on lines of PGI: Soni

The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) had ordered the health department to submit an ‘action taken’ report in the case of alleged negligence by trainee doctors at GNDH

The Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar, will be made an autonomous institution on the lines of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, said state medical education and research minister OP Soni.

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Soni, who visited Amritsar on Sunday to hold a meeting with the college authorities over alleged medical negligence resulting in the death of a three-day-old infant on January 4, said, “The Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH), which is largest government-run health care facility in the Majha and Doaba and is a part of GMC, Amritsar, will be upgraded on the lines of PGIMER. We will ensure the facility gets required medicines and equipment so that people get the best treatment here.”

The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) had ordered the health department to submit an ‘action taken’ report in the case of alleged negligence by trainee doctors at GNDH.

Soni, who was accompanied by secretary (medical education and research department) DK Tiwari, Punjab health adviser KK Talwar, held a meeting with GMC principal Dr Sujata Sharma and medical superintendent Dr Raman Sharma.

“The patients should get the facility of getting medical tests done at the institution round the clock. The state government’s initiative to revamp the administrative set-up of government medical colleges in Patiala and Amritsar will ensure better health facilities,” he added.

Talwar suggested the students, who do post-graduation from the institution through the Punjab Civil Medical Service (PCMS) quota, should work as senior resident doctors in the medical college for two years as a part of their training to deal with staff shortage.