MCI urges private healthcare chains to set up medical colleges

The Medical Council of India (MCI) says it is concerned at the lack of action by private companies in taking advantage of the 17-month-old government decision to allow them to set up medical colleges.

“I am surprised that no one has started yet,” MCI President Ketan Desai told Business Standard. The permission, he recalled, was given to private companies in October 2008, on the condition that no profits were to be made.

With this move, healthcare chains such as Fortis Healthcare, Max Healthcare and Apollo Hospitals were free to start their own medical colleges. Till then, only state-run bodies, universities and private, religious or charitable trusts were allowed to do so.

Desai said to facilitate setting up of new medical colleges in cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, MCI had relaxed the land requirements. Other than relaxing the existing norm of a 25 acres for setting up a medical college, hospitals were told they could increase their floor area ratio. “In the same premises, they could go higher and start a medical college,” said Desai.

All the top private hospitals have excellent doctors, said Desai. The health ministry had hoped that these would become excellent training centres for the next generation of doctors.

There is an acute shortage of doctors at junior levels in most hospitals. As of now, 23,000 students graduate from 300 medical colleges each year. Most enroll for postgraduate courses and some leave to study abroad.