Government to set up 7 medical colleges

Guntur :The state government will set up seven new medical colleges at Pulivendala, Vizianagaram, Eluru, Paderu, Markapuram, Machilipatnam and Gurazala to render better medical services to the poor patients.

Though the government had decided to set up medical college in Gurazala in Guntur district, the district administration is yet to allot land. Similarly, the officials are searching for suitable land for medical colleges in Machilipatnam in Krishna and Markapuram in Prakasam district.

A government medical college will come up on the premises of existing district headquarters hospital in Eluru. Land is available to set up medical colleges in Vizianagaram and Paderu in Visakhapatnam district.

Currently, there are 11 medical colleges in the state and the number will increase to 18 after the new colleges takes shape. Similarly, medical services, super specialty medical services will come within the reach poor patients as the government is going to extend super specialty services to all the government hospitals in a phased manner.

According to sources in the medical education department, it will take at least two years to construct necessary buildings and provide infrastructure for medical college as per the Medical Council of India (MCI) norms.

Subject to the permission by the MCI and Dr NTR University of Health Sciences, the state will get at least 700 MBBS seats if all the seven colleges materialise. Director of medical education Dr K Venkatesh told The Hans India that the government was going to set up seven new medical colleges in the state.

He said that it will take another two years the construction of these colleges as many of them yet to get the land. Gurazla RDO J Pardhasaradhi said they were searching for suitable land to set up government medical college and added that it would take some time to finalise the land.