BMC plans first med college for suburbs at Cooper ……….Sukhada Tatke I TNN
Mumbai: Alarmed by the shortage of doctors in several civic hospitals in the western suburbs, the BMC standing committee on Monday passed a proposal to open the first medical college in the suburbs at R N Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle.
With this, the BMC hopes to have enough doctors, nurses and other medical staff at its five hospitals in the suburbs. At the same time, it will provide medical education to students in the area.
While the island city has well-known medical courses such as at KEMthe citys premier teaching collegeSion and Nair hospitals, there is not a single such institution in the suburbs. These hospitals already have graduate and postgraduate courses. This new institution will take some load off those hospitals and patients from the suburbs will be able to avail of medical facilities near their homes, said a senior civic official.
The new medical college at Cooper Hospital will be set up according to Medical Council of India guidelines, which specify that such an institution can be set up only in hospitals that are spread across 25 acres of land and have a minimum of 300 beds. In addition, it should be close to the hospital to make it easy for patients. After having considered all these parameters, we decided that Cooper Hospital was the best option. The other options were Bhabha (Bandra W), V N Desai (Santa Cruz), M W Desai (Malad), Shatabdi (Kandivli) and Bhagwati (Borivli) hospitals, said an official.
The proposal will now be sent to the state government for approval and if it is sanctioned soon, budgetary allocation will be made for it in the next financial year. There will be 100 seats for the MBBS course.
According to Rahul Shewale, the Sena corporator from Mandala, a medical college can also be set up at Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli. Such an institution is needed there as well, Shewale said.
While most see the proposed college as a blessing, some are wary that the civic body is doing this with an eye on privatisation.
HEALTHY PROPOSAL: The medical college planned at Cooper Hospital will be set up according to MCI rules