BANGALORE, Sept 8:
Union Health and Family Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today invited private institutions from the South and Western parts of the country to set up new medical colleges to tide over the severe shortage of doctors being faced by the country.
Speaking after launching, Emplyee;s State Insurance Corporation’s (ESIC) first Medical college in the city, he said shortage of doctors had hampered various health programmes of the Union Government and to ease the problem, it had brought about necessary changes in the Medical Council of India (MCI) rules.
‘We have amended MCI rules and I invite the private institutions from the South and the West to come forward to set up more medical colleges, as we find most enterprising private institutions here compared to North or the East,’ he said.
Citing an example, Mr Azad said the union government’s programme to screen people for non-communicable diseases like Diabetes, Cardio-ascular diseases, hypertension had been hampered due to shortage of doctors.
‘We have taken up screening of people in 100 districts in the country and have screened one crore people for Diabetes and Hypertension. But shortage of doctors has led to not many being screened for Cardio-vascular diseases,” he said.
‘We want to screen the citizens of entire country for these diseases but it may not be possible for shortage of doctors,’ he said.
Union Minister for Labour and Employment M Mallikarjun Kharge said the ESIC was setting up 18 medical colleges at the major hospitals run by the Corporation and the State government’s across the country and urged the State government’s to provide free land as his ministry was making huge allocations for the purpose.
‘We faced delay in clearance by the Karnataka government to set up this first Medical College within the Rajajinagar ESI hospital in Bangalore as well as in ongoing projects in Gulbarga.
‘We also want an early MCI clearances for such colleges. If we are properly facilitated, ESIC can open three to four colleges in the country within the next one year,’ he said.
He said his ministry was working towards providing up to 50 per cent reservations in these medical colleges for children of the Labour class and for this it needs MCI’s help.
Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar assured all help to ESIC in setting up the medical colleges.
‘The Union and state governments will have to cooperate in providing better health facilities to the labour population. The safety of Labour class and its families is the duty of the both the governments and we need to do more. We thank Mr Kharge for bringing over Rs 3,000 crore central funds from his department into Karnataka,’ he added. (UNI)
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