West Bengal mulls private medical college tie-up with BPHCs to strengthen rural healthcare

Kolkata: The West Bengal government is considering an operational partnership between private medical colleges and government-run block primary health centres to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in rural districts, with the proposed model aimed at improving patient care while providing greater clinical exposure to medical students, according to a minister.

West Bengal Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said the idea was at a preliminary stage and the government was exploring ways in which private medical colleges could work with the public healthcare system to improve infrastructure and services at the grassroots level.

"We will provide them with patients, and they provide us with infrastructure," Mukherjee said on Saturday evening, outlining the broad concept of the proposed partnership.

The state currently has 17 operational private medical colleges and is exploring a model under which each such college could mentor around 10 block primary health centres (BPHCs), he said while interacting with the Forum for Business, Social and Cultural Initiatives (FBSC).

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Private colleges may support 10 BPHCs each

Under the proposed arrangement, the government would facilitate patient flow to these centres while private medical colleges would help improve infrastructure and manpower, he said. "If we can give 10 BPHCs per medical college, then it will be better," Mukherjee said, explaining that private institutions could contribute equipment such as ultrasonography machines and semi-auto analysers as well as trained nursing personnel.

The government, in turn, could provide doctors and other staff, creating a system where both sides contribute to strengthening the rural healthcare network, he said.

BPHCs may boost medical students’ clinical training

Mukherjee said the BPHCs, which generally have around 20 beds and can cater to 30 patients or more, could become an important clinical training base for students of private medical colleges. "Healthcare teaching depends solely on patients. Without patients, you cannot make a doctor," he said.

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The minister said the proposed model was being discussed with the association of private medical colleges and could help address the twin problems of inadequate infrastructure at rural health facilities and insufficient patient exposure for students. According to Mukherjee, the government is working on starting six new medical colleges and an AIIMS-like institution in north Bengal, besides developing a trauma centre in south Bengal.