Karnataka - Bangalore   

BMC to be upgraded to the level of AIIMS

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Recognition: The Bangalore Medical College and Research institute.

BANGALORE: Healthcare in the city is all set to touch a new level of excellence and affordability; and the gestation period for this massive plan is a mere nine months. Come October, and the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) will be upgraded to the level of the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences. Courtesy, the Pradhanmantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana announced in 2004.

Topping the list of the proposed new facilities is a brand new multi-speciality unit. Slated to come up near the Nephro-Urology Institute, the ritzy hi-tech building is just the ticket to excellence that specialists and teachers of medicine in the city are looking for.

Dean and Director of BMCRI G.T. Subhash told The Hindu that the construction work for the multi-speciality unit has been going on for nearly three months now. The institute will provide specialised care in neurology, neurosurgery, paediatric surgery, gastro surgery, cardiology and plastic surgery. The 205-bed, five-storey hospital will be complete with state-of-the-art equipment, intensive care and advanced research facilities.

BMCRI is among the six medical colleges in the country, which were chosen to be upgraded, and funds worth Rs. 100 crore have been sanctioned by the Union Government. The State Government will contribute another Rs. 20 crore from its kitty towards the purpose. “We have indented equipment worth Rs. 50 crore to upgrade all the departments running in our hospitals and the remaining Rs. 50 crore will be used for the multi-speciality unit,” Dr. Subhash said. A building for a nursing college and its hostel has also been approved to take care of the need for supporting staff, he said. The Regional Institute of Paramedical Studies, which is also Union Government funded, has been approved recently. “This will take care of the paramedical needs of the institute,” he added.

Secretary of Medical Education M.K. Shankarlinge Gowda said that this upgradation and new facilities would usher in a level of excellence. “This will add to the knowledge-base of the medical college and with the increased standards of the teaching staff who will work at the speciality hospital, the standard in health service in Bangalore will certainly be raised,” Mr. Gowda said. The government is also contemplating starting fellowship programmes in faculties such as anaesthesia, nephrology and so on.

The State Government is not to be left behind in its contributions to this venture. On its part, the State Government will spend Rs. 40 crore in improving the Out Patient Department of the hospital, Mr. Gowda said. It is building a casualty and trauma centre worth Rs. 12 crores, and four tower blocks are being constructed on the existing hospital building.

Dr. Subhash said that the institute has also proposed to build a geriatric unit for which funds worth Rs. 4 crores will be used.

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