Medical college with 50 seats to come up soon

In what will give a much-needed impetus to medical education and research, a new government medical college will come up in Ludhiana. This will be the first public sector institution after two existing private medical colleges — Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) — already functioning here.

The new medical college will be established by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment with the intake of 50 undergraduate (UG) MBBS seats.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has agreed to provide 10-acre land for the new campus to start functioning from the next academic session.

MP Sanjeev Arora, who was part of the meeting chaired by the CM recently, said CM Mann has entrusted him with the task to identify the suitable land parcel in consultation with the Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner for handing it over to the ESIC for setting up of the new medical college campus in Ludhiana.

“The ESIC had sought for 20-acre land but initially, the state government will provide them with a 10-acre site to begin the operations and more land, if required, will be provided at the later stage,” he said.

Arora, who is also the member of the Centre’s Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, said the land will most likely be identified close to or abutting the ESIC Model Hospital here, in order to facilitate both the medical college and hospital facilities work under a joint campus.

The 300-bed ESIC Model Hospital, which provides secondary care facilities to the ESIC beneficiaries and was already a teaching hospital with NBE accredited seats in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Paediatrics, was planning to start teaching facilities in General Surgery also.

“The starting of a medical college attached to the hospital, apart from adding to available medical seats, would also enhance the effectiveness of the delivery of medical services to its beneficiaries significantly,” the ruling AAP member in the Upper House of Parliament from Punjab said.

As per the notification issued by the ESIC, the existing ESIC Model Hospital will be attached to a 50-seat intake medical college. The new campus will have staff accommodation and student hostels as per NMC norms.

Arora divulged that the new medical college will be governed by the ESIC under Ministry of Labour and Employment, for all its activities and will be headed by a Dean.

As per the plan, the plant, machinery and equipment, furniture and fixtures will be installed according to the construction schedule of the new medical college and hospital.

The plan requires 1,722-square meter land for getting the letter of permission for setting up the academic block for first year MBBS students.

“Till the construction of new campus, the whole fourth floor in the existing hospital has been earmarked for conversion to academic block for first year,” the parliamentarian divulged, while sharing that the fourth floor spread over 1,048-square meters will accommodate five labs and museum for first year MBBS students, along with the dissection hall and a lecture theatre.

The existing library on the third floor will be expanded and will house various sections of the reading room while the whole building near the exit gate of the hospital, having two floors over 1,100-square meters, will house the various faculty rooms and reading room also.

“An old building over 573-square meters is planned for demolition and a five-floor infrastructure will house further expansion/ area of the academic block,” he detailed.

The existing laboratory will house the faculty cabins for the biochemistry department while the existing administrative area has been earmarked for administration.

The conference hall in the hospital will be used as a teaching room unit.

“Against a requirement of 1,300 sq meters for first year MBBS course, the existing plan will make available 2,400 sq meters,” Arora revealed, while adding that an area planned for demolition will provide 3,955-square meters up to the fifth floor.

Structures, objectives:

•  The ESIC Medical College, Ludhiana, will have dynamic and strong campus research centres.
•  It will generate knowledge in medical sciences and allied fields by fostering and promoting medical research.
•  It will also add established centres for research and for conducting integrated postgraduate courses at a later stage.