Punjab government to revamp medical institutions

Chandigarh, May 3: In order to streamline the functioning of the government medical colleges in the state, the Punjab Government today decided to fill up 57 vacant direct quota posts in the teaching faculties on adhoc basis by the departmental selection committee.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here.

The Chief Minister also approved the proposal of the Medical Education and Research Department to re-designate 60 posts of Medical Officers to that of lecturer in the pre/para clinical departments and that of Senior Residents in the clinical departments. Likewise, it was also decided in the meeting to fill vacant 266 paramedical and 159 class IV posts through outsourcing.

The Chief Minister asked the Secretary Medical Education and Research to submit a detailed master plan to upgrade the existing infrastructure in the state medical institutions which were in a dilapidated condition sice the past 25 years. He said that the services of well known architects should be engaged in consultation with Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) to give a facelift to the buildings of the medical colleges of Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot.

It was also decided to equip the three medical colleges with state-of-the-art technology in a phased manner. Mr Badal pointed out that the medical institutions of Amritsar and Patiala would be taken up in the first phase of up-gradation and in the next phase the Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences and Medical College at Faridkot would be upgraded.

The meeting also decided to grant financial autonomy to the three medical colleges, with a small sized coordinating committee to supervise their functioning.

Taking part in the deliberations, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal was of the viewpoint that optimal use of user charges should be made for the maintenance and up-gradation of the infrastructure, machinery and equipment in these colleges. It was also decided to raise a corpus fund of Rs 100 crore in order to give financial autonomy to these institutions thereby minimising their dependence on the state budget.

Briefing the Chief Minister, Medical Education and Research Minister Tikshan Sud also emphasised the need to strengthen the infrastructure and logistics in the Government Ayurveda Medical College at Patiala, one of the oldest ayurvedic institutions of Northern India. This would help this college to undertake research and development in ayurvedic system of medicine which was growing in popularity.

Others present in the meeting were Secretary Medical Education and Research Jagjit Puri and Director Medical Education and Research, Dr Kiranjit Kaur.

UNI