State fast tracks SoBo medical college proposal

The state medical education department in Mumbai has ordered the Public Works Department to vacate a 12-storey building in GT Hospital to make way for a new state-run medical college. The building, currently occupied by various state departments, will be emptied in 15 days. The new medical college will be in addition to 13 other state-run medical colleges recently approved by the state, in an effort to improve healthcare infrastructure and address the shortage of doctors.

PWD to vacate 12-storey building in GT Hospital for medical college

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Mumbai: The state medical education department ordered to fast track its 11-year-old proposal for a new state-run medical college in South Mumbai in a meeting held at Vidhan Bhavan on Monday. At present, Grant Medical College and JJ Group of Hospitals, are the only state-run medical colleges in the city.

The meeting was attended by the medical education department officials, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, medical education commissioner along public works department (PWD) officials. The officials have decided that the 12-storey building within the premises of the state-run Gokuldas Tejpal (GT) Hospital near Crawford Market, presently occupied by different state departments, including water, court, finance, and health, will be vacated in 15 days.

On November 19, HT reported on the state medical education department’s plans to revive the 11-year-old proposal.

“The PWD has been instructed to start the process of emptying the building and find alternative accommodation for the departments having their office in this building. This building was constructed in 2012 for a medical college. After the massive fire that broke out at the Mantralaya on June 21, 2012, and gutted nearly four floors, some offices were shifted here,” said a senior medical education department official.

At Monday’s meeting, the state medical education department official said they are also initiating the process of getting the required permissions from the National Medical Council to start the college.

“GT Hospital, Cama Albless Hospital, and St George Hospital will serve as feeder hospitals. We need a 500-bed hospital for the medical college with a capacity to admit 100 medical students,” said another medical education department official. “We are happy that after 11 years, the proposal is finally on fast track.”

The medical college in GT Hospital will be in addition to the 13 new state-run medical colleges that the state has recently approved in a bid to improve healthcare infrastructure and the shortage of doctors in the state. The thirteen new medical colleges will be adding 2050 medical seats.

Dr Pravin Shingare, former director, DMER, under whose tenure the medical college was proposed, welcomed the development, saying with all the infrastructures required for medical college in place, the project only needed political will.

“JJ Hospital has 1,300 beds and alone fulfills the NMC norms to run the 250 medical seats at Grant Medical College. Its other three attached hospitals- ST George Hospital in Fort, GT Hospital, and Cama Albless Hospital can be used for the new medical college. This is the first new medical college for which the state does not have to spend much on infrastructure or build a new medical college or hospital building,” Dr Shingare said. “Everything is ready.”

The state has 66 medical colleges, out of which 25 are state-run medical colleges with a student capacity of 3,950. Mumbai has five medical colleges, four run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with a student capacity of 900.