National paramedical institute opens at PGI

Chandigarh, Oct 14: Health and Family Welfare Secretary Prasanna Hota today inaugurated National Institute of Paramedical Sciences (NIPS) at PGIMER here with an aim to produce well-qualified and trained paramedical staff.

The NIPS, coming up with the support of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, will help meet the shortage of trained graduates and postgraduate in the country, Mr Hota said.

They would be competent to work in a diagnostic and research laboratory, to impart training for paramedical skill development in other institutes, he added.

According to PGIMER Sub-Dean Prof Amod Gupta, the Institute would initially constitute of five departments mainly Medical Laboratory Sciences, Radiological, Technology and Imaging, Radiotherapy Technology, Audiology and speech therapy and operation theatre assistance.

Subsequently, more courses would be opened like in ophthalmology technical course, ICU assistant, Cardiac laboratory technology, Lung Care laboratory course, Dental technology course, Neuro-physiology laboratory course and others, he added.

He said that from the present intake of 50 students, the number would be increased to 105 students per year.

About the faculty, he said that 16 lecturers already working for the training of different technology courses in the hospital, would be incorporated as faculty of the Institute and subsequently more faculty members in the rank of Professor, Reader, Lecturer and Demonstrator would be selected.

UNI