Vardhan inaugurates 2 medical colleges in Rajasthan's Bhilwara, Bharatpur

NEW DELHI: Two medical colleges in Rajasthan's Bhilwara and Bharatpur, which have been upgraded from district hospitals, were inaugurated on Wednesday by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan along with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the health ministry said.

The Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia (RVRS) Medical College in Bhilwara and the Bharatpur Medical College, and three super-speciality blocks in Rajasthan were inaugurated digitally in the presence of Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey, it said. The super-speciality blocks have been added to the Government Medical College in Kota, the Sardar Patel Medical College in Bikaner and the Ravindra Nath Tagore Medical College in Udaipur.

These projects have a combined investment of Rs 828 crore, out of which Rs 150 crore were invested in each of the medical colleges which have a capacity of 150 undergraduate students. The Bharatpur Medical College will have 525 beds, including 34 ICU beds, while the RVRS Medical College will have 458 beds, including 12 ICU beds, the ministry said in its statement.

On the occasion, Vardhan said, "The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritised reforms in medical education as a key component in governance." Enumerating the government's achievements, he said in the last five years, 158 new medical colleges have been opened, which include 42 institutes inaugurated as part of the central scheme of establishment of medical colleges attached with district hospitals.

157 new colleges planned

"Under this scheme, 157 new colleges have been planned, of which 75 were approved in 2019-20. The scheme provides for establishment of new medical colleges by upgrading district hospitals preferably in the underserved districts of the country," he was quoted as saying in the health ministry statement. "Over the last five years, we have been able to add approximately 26,000 seats in MBBS and 30,000 seats in post-graduation.

The establishment of such a large number of medical colleges and increase in medical seats in the country are the outcome of a number of initiatives and reforms undertaken by the government," Vardhan said. These measures are accelerating improved access to tertiary care and expansion of medical education in underserved areas, he added. Gehlot thanked the Central government for its pro-active role in setting up health infrastructure in Rajasthan and discussed possible ways in which Centre-State cooperation can be extended to help the people of Rajasthan tide over the COVID-19 crisis.

The Union Health Minister stated that as a measure to improve the quality of medical education in the country, a common entrance examination -- NEET -- has been introduced while common counselling at the state level has also been brought in. These measures have brought about complete transparency in medical admissions, improving the quality of students and the overall standard of medical education, Vardhan said. "We are committed to carrying out similar reforms in other sectors of health education as well.

The government has recently approved the introduction of a new law for a regulatory body for all the allied and healthcare professionals called 'The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professionals Bill'. "This proposed legislation, once passed, will fill in the long-felt vacuum for regulation and development of more than 50 different allied and healthcare professions," the Union health minister said.

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