Set to expand medical college network in 'big' way: Govt

Arun Jaitley said that India requires more quality institutions and batted for a serious review for developing medical colleges

Observing that the prestigious AIIMS was overburdened, the government today said it is all set to expand the network of medical colleges in the country even as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley pushed for relaxation in medical council and municipal norms to achieve that goal.

The network of medical colleges in the country is set for expansion in a "big" way as the government said it attaches huge importance to the promotion of high-quality tertiary care services and expansion of medical education in the country.

Jaitley, also the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, opined that "over-involvement' in the past had led to "crisis" for AIIMS and asked the Health Ministry to play a supportive role without getting into "micro-management" of the institution.

Noting that the number of medical colleges in the country was "inadequate", he also said at the 43rd Annual Convocation of AIIMS here that a serious review is needed to increase the number of such institutions.

Jaitley also advocated the need for an assessment of the policy of organ donation by studying the best practices around the world.

The finance minister said that India requires more quality institutions and batted for a serious review for developing medical colleges by relaxing municipal and medical council laws.

"We need more medical colleges. Both public and private sector education has expanded. But medical colleges are still inadequate. A review of the policy is required as far as increasing the number of medical schools is concerned," he said.

He noted that India is capable of producing "huge" human talent as one out of every seven patients in the US is treated by a doctor of Indian origin while a large part of British healthcare is managed by Indian doctors.

"We need to expand quality institutions. The restraints on the great hospitals -- unavailability of contiguous land, inability to have medical colleges next to it -- needs a serious review.

"We have ready-made hospitals of excellence which have worked for decades and there is no reason why, by relaxing municipal laws and medical council regulations, we are not able to encourage the expansion of a few hundred more medical colleges in India," he said.

Talking about the aim to expand the network of medical colleges in the country, Health Minister JP Nadda said at the event that, in the first phase, upgrade of 58 district hospitals to medical colleges is proposed while 70 medical colleges are being upgraded by adding super-speciality blocks under various phases of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) scheme.

"This reflects the importance attached by the government to the promotion of high-quality tertiary care services and expansion of medical education in the country," he said.