Pvt med college at South District Hospital okayed

PANAJI

A private medical college is set to come up in Margao attached to the South Goa District Hospital by June next year.

The State Cabinet approved the decision to establish this private medical college in Margao which will function just like Goa Medical College where the public will be entitled to free consultations and treatment.

Announcing the decision, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who addressed a post-Cabinet press conference shot down suggestions that the decision amounted to privatising a public health institution.

"It will benefit the public. People will get access to services without any curbs just like GMC. Apart from this, there will be additional seats for MBBS available to Goan students," Sawant said.

A private medical college for Goa was approved by the NITI Aayog nearly a year ago. The private medical college attached to the South Goa District Hospital approved by the Cabinet on Friday is sequel to the Niti Ayog approval.

Sawant said, all expenditure related to the setting up of the college (academic section) will be footed by the private player who will be chosen by a tendering process.

Sawant also said that the process to float the Request For Proposal (RFP) asking interested private entities to submit their proposals to set up the medical college will be floated very soon.

As per the plan approved by the Cabinet on Friday, the medical college will be constructed on a 10,000 square metre parcel of land in close proximity of the South Goa District Hospital in Margao.

The land will be handed over to the selected private party once the tender process is complete, he said, adding that the College will have all the departments just like GMC benefitting the people of South Goa immensely.

TRUST TO OVERSEE COLLEGE: The medical college attached to the SGDH may be private but it will be overseen by a 'Trust' which will be headed by the Chief Minister as chairman and will also have the Leader of Opposition in it.

An MLA of each party with representation in the Goa Legislative Assembly will also be made members of this governing Trust, Sawant said, adding that the purpose of having this Trust is to ensure government control on the overall affairs of the private medical college.

The private medical college attached to SGDH was mooted by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane over two years ago but had evoked strong reactions from different quarters. 

The proposal got legs when the Niti Ayog included Goa in its list of States who were given the nod to permit private medical college last year.