Patliputra Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) on Monday approved a final list of equipment and other requirements that will be needed by its 16 departments for launching postgraduate courses.
The approval, which comes more than three months after the state and the Centre provided the cradle with a sum of more than Rs 20 crore, will now pave way for zeroing down on specifications and initiation of the tender process for purchase of equipment.
After a meeting with the heads of all the 16 departments on Monday, principal Arun Kumar Chaudhary said the approval came after a prod from health and family welfare department secretary K. Vidyasagar, who had asked the college to initiate steps for effective utilisation of the funds.
The 16 departments that took place in Monday's meeting are anatomy, physiology, bio-chemistry, pharmacology, preventive and social medicine (PSM), medicine, skin, paediatrics, surgery, orthopaedics, anaesthesia, radiology, ophthalmology, ENT, gynaecology and obstetrics.
Of the Rs 20.27 crore that has been provided to the college for launch of postgraduate courses, the state has pooled in Rs 6.66 crore while the remaining amount has come from the Centre. The money was paid to the college in various phases in March and April this year.
"We have already sent a sum of Rs 32 lakh ' Rs 2 lakh each for the 16 departments ' to the Medical Council of India (MCI) for carrying out an inspection. The nod from MCI is a must before we can launch the postgraduate courses," Kumar said, adding that the college had separately written to the MCI seeking permission to launch the new courses, each of which would have no more than 46 seats.
The ball for launching of postgraduate courses in the college was officially set rolling a couple of years ago after central government, health and family welfare department teams visited the cradle to inspect its infrastructure.
The state government after sitting on the issue for two years, then released Rs 4.5 crore as first instalment on March 26 this year, with the central government chipping in later. PMCH then obtained a No Objection Certificate from Vinoba Bhave University and applied to the MCI.
Highly placed sources, however, sounded sceptical of an MCI nod after inspection as and when that happened. They said the college did not have the required number of faculty members and also did not have enough paramedic, nursing and laboratory staff.
"MCI does not recognise a department that does not have a professor. In PMCH's case there are at least three departments ' surgery, gynaecology and ophthalmology ' that are functioning without a professor. They are run by mentors whoa re of assistant professor rank instead," a senior faculty member said. He added that the other point the MCI might object to is the medical college having its campus at two different places ' Saraidhela and Hirapur.
"the state should immediately take steps to recruit more teachers," another faculty member said.
