Odisha HRD

Four General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) Colleges to be opened in the KBK districts of Odisha: Samaja

Note: ANM is short for "Auxiliary Nurse Midwife" and GNM is short for "General Nursing and Midwifery".

July 4th, 2010

Update on the upgradation of the Dr A C Homoeopathy Medical College in Bhubaneswar to a national institute

Following is an excerpt from a report in pharmabiz.com.

The Department of Ayush has initiated efforts to upgrade nine more institutions in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy as National Institutes of Ayush under the central sector scheme to uniformly improve quality of tertiary level healthcare and improve facilities and standards of medical education to meet global demand of Ayush.

The institutes, which would be upgraded to National Institutes through the current and the next Five Year Plans are the Institute of Post Graduate Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar, Gujarat, Govt Ayurvedic College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, Govt R A Poddar Ayurvedic College, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Govt Ayurvedic College, Patna, Bihar, Rajiv Gandhi Govt PG Ayurveda Colege, Paprola, Himachal Pradesh, Govt Ayurvedic College, Guwahati, Assam, Govt Ayurveda & Unani Tibbiya College, Karol Bagh, New Delhi, Govt Dr A C Homoeopathy Medical College, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa and Govt Nizamia Tibbi College, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

Detailed project reports on requirements to upgrade these institutions, aiming to achieve the optimum infrastructure in the next five years, would be prepared soon. The project would be divided into two phases, where in the first phase would cover the capital work at equipment required and the salary, stipend and cosumables to be put in place in the current Five Year Plan, posted to end in the financial year 2010-11.

The second phase of upgradation to develop infrastructure to achieve optimum requirements, would commence in the 12th Five Year Plan, starting from the financial year 2011-12. Since these are existing and functioning institutions, the two-phased project would be appropriate for the proposed upgradation, comments Dept of Ayush sources. A call for eligible consultant firms to engage in preparing detailed project report has been issued by the department of late.

Post upgradation, the Ayurvedic institutions could accommodate 100 BAMS, almost 100 MDs and PhDs and 25 nursing students per year, even as the Unani and Homoeopathic institutions would have 100 BUMS/BHMS seats and 35 MD seats for seven subjects per year, uniformly.

The proposed National Institutes are part of the departments effort to upgrade the educational standards in the Ayurveda, Unani and Homoeopathy colleges in the country, strengthen existing research institutions and ensure a time-bound research programme on identified diseases for which these systems have an effective treatment, draw up schemes for promotion, cultivation and regeneration of medicinal plants used in these systems and to evolve pharmacopoeial standards for ISM and Homoeopathy medicines.

… The existing bed strength will be upgraded to 200 for Ayurvedic and Unani institutions and to 100 for Homoeopathy institutions with adequate treatment and diagnostic facilities and full-fledged testing laboratories with complete computer facilities will be in place in each of these institutes to bring in development of the segment in regional level.

At present, the department has eight apex educational institutions established to promote excellence in the Ayush segments – The National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, National Institute of Siddha, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bangalore, Karnataka, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, New Delhi, National Institute of Naturopathy, Pune, Maharashtra, National Institute of Homoeopathy, Kolkata, West Bengal, Rashtriya Ayurved Vidyapeeth, New Delhi and the Institute of Post Graduate Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar, Gujarat.

While it is good that Dr A C Homoeopathy Medical College in Bhubaneswar will be upgraded to a national institute, I wish it was an aurvedic college instead of a Homeopathy college. Thats because I do not think "Homeopathy" is backed by science. See for example the videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFtJgCzPgL0, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpvLCkajxc0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jqP_1beVXQ&feature=related.

1 comment June 23rd, 2010

Odisha Chief Secretary proposes government medical colleges at Balasore and Bolangir

Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.

Chief Secretary Mr.Mishra along with Balangir has also suggested setting up another Government Medical College at Balasore.

He said at present there are 3 Government Medical Colleges at Cuttack, Berhampur and Burla in Sambalpur.

There are 3 private Medical Colleges at Bhubaneswar and Hi-Tech Medical College has been allowed to set up a Medical College at Rourkela.

Central University of Odisha has been requested to set up a Medical College at Koraput.

Sahayog Foundation has shown keen interest to set up a Medical College at Keonjhar.

Ministry of Steel has been approached for a Medical College funded by SAIL at Rourkela by upgrading Ispat General Hospital (IGH).

Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL) is setting up a Medical College at Talcher.

So a Government Medical College at Balangir seems the only option available.

With another Medical College at Balasore, there will be harmonious spread of Medical Colleges all over Odisha, felt the top most administrator of the state.

The proposal is pending with the Chief Minister and he will take the final call on the issue, said sources.

What about Kalahandi? The WODC medical college there is stuck for some time. The Odisha government should consider taking over what has already been constructed and make it a government medical college too.

If a medical college in Kalahandi is also made and all the above mentioned medical colleges come through then the following 11 undivided districts (out of 13) will have at least one medical college: Cuttack, Ganjam, Sambalpur, Puri, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Balangir, Kalahandi, Sundergarh and Balasore. The only two that will be left out are: Baudha-Kandhamal and Mayurbhanj. They can be addressed in the next round.

June 21st, 2010

Call4care and Sahyog Foundation’s plan for medical colleges in Keonjhar and Jagatpur in Odisha

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer. 

The State Government on Saturday decided to provide 20 acres of land free of cost and Rs 10 crore as incentive to Sahayog Healthcare and Research Foundation for its proposed 650-bedded medical college and hospital at Keonjhar. The city based foundation has estimated to spend Rs 80 crore for the project.

… It is to be noted that the Foundation had earlier signed an MoU with the State Government. The Foundation had given proposal of setting up of two medical colleges and hospitals, one at Keonjhar and the other at Jagatpur near Cuttack.

It was known that the Foundation would set up Jagatpur medical collage and hospital at its own cost. The Government would not give any land or financial incentive for the project.

A medical college in Keonjhar is Godsend. But the number "80 crores" and "650 beds" does not add up. Making a medical college costs much more. Also, in an earlier report that in Business Standard (see also https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3900 ) different numbers were reported. So with doubts in my mind, I looked for any additional information on this foundation. I came across the following links: 

• The company Call for Care (web page at http://www.call4care.org/ ) which is mentioned as a part of the Sahyog Foundation
• The linked in page of Mr. Rajat Mohanty ( http://in.linkedin.com/pub/rajat-mohanty/21/706/52b ) which says he is the Regional Manager at Call for care( of Sahyoga foundation).
• The supposed web page of Sahyog foundation at http://www.sahyagoaindia.org/ which did not work when I checked (Note: A foundation which is planning to make 2 medical colleges should not be listing a web site which does not work)
• The address of the foundation at Sahyog Foundation, 2nd floor, Plot – 6, Unit III, Kharvel Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha – 751001, (O) +91-674-2390033

I sincerely hope that this is for real. Unfortunately, the non-working website of the foundation http://www.sahyagoaindia.org/ is a warning bell. Also the working web site of its unit http://www.call4care.org does not list the management of the foundation and their background. It does have a list of doctors that they say are part of the program and it lists some health insurance products.

June 20th, 2010

Status of Sardar Raja’s Medical College and Hospital in Jaring, Kalahandi: Pioneer

Following are excerpts from a report in Pioneer.

Kalahandi’s Sardar Raja’s Medical College and Hospital (SRMCH), the foundation-stone for which was laid by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on February 8, 2004 at Jaring, named Naveen Town, is yet to cater to the needs of the region full-fledged.

Even after six years, the pending work of the hostel construction is yet to be completed.

Initially, the State Government had provided 25 acres of land at Jaring, en route Bhawanipatna to Junagarh, and the Western Odisha Development Council (WODC) had sanctioned Rs 10 crore (out of which Rs 9 crore has been received) for the establishment of the SRMCH.

The ongoing work began to slowdown when its chairman was convicted in a case by the Madras High Court ten months ago.

… However, Raja’s two sons often visit the Jaring-based SRMCH from Tamil Nadu and hope for its bright future.

CEO Tarun Mishra told The Pioneer that in the absence of the chairman, all its staffers are apparently losing confidence.

Mishra also informed that the trust has enough funds and all its 83 staff members get their salaries in time, but the pace of the work is yet to pick up.

He said that earlier the WODC CEO Aswini Mishra, Kalinga Hospital director Saheb Sahu, Junagarh MLA Gobardhan Das and Berhampur Medical College principal Sunamali Bag had held a review meeting on the hospital campus for speeding up the work.

The SRMCH had signed an MOU with the State Government to complete it in a five-year period, but the period of the MoU has already elapsed.

… Under the Selvan Educational and Charitable Trust, Vadakangulam in Tamil Nadu, the SRMCH has already spent around Rs 25-30 crore and the WODC has funded Rs 9 crore for the building construction and purchase of equipment.

The hospital’s 100-bed facility was first inaugurated on December 9, 2006.

It was again inaugurated on March 18, 2007 with its 200-bed facility followed by its last inauguration of 300-bed on July 27, 2007.

Facilitated with all types of equipment, the hospital work is now being handled by three doctors only, with a medicine specialist, pediatrician and one dentist on duty.

Nearby villagers come to the hospital and take advantage of it as far as possible. It requires appointment of 12 doctors for full-fledged operation.

… The hospital has facilities of an ICU, two X-ray wards, ECG, ultra sound, 3 OTs, but due to insufficient doctors machines are hardly used.

 

The positive part is that the hospital is somewhat functional and has 300 beds and the trust has spend much more than what it received from WODC. But considering that even the private medical colleges in Bhubaneswar are running at a loss, a private medical college in Kalahandi does not have a good chance of being self-sustaining. The government needs to step in and either take over the infrastructure, add the necessary missing infrastructure and make it a government medical college OR agree to pay the full tuition (at market rates) of at least 20 students/batch for the next five years. The latter will guarantee some cash flow to the trust and perhaps make it easier for them to operate the medical college.

June 15th, 2010

Tender invitation (again) for construction of hospital complex for the six new AIIMS like institutions

Update: The press release corresponding to the ad below is now available at http://www.mohfw.nic.in/31Press%20relaease.doc. It does not have any additional info though.

The advertisement below appeared in various newspapers today. Although the ad mentions that more details are in the http://www.mohfw.nic.in/ site, nothing is there yet. (It may take a few days for more details to appear there.)

A similar tender invitation was issued in November 2009. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3610 and https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3408. Earlier in May 2008, tenders were floated for the housing complex. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1121.  (Even older links related to tenders for the AIIMS-like institution in Bhubaneswar are at https://www.orissalinks.com/?p=970.)

The PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=59071 (see also https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3962)  gives the status of the construction of residential complex until March 2010.

May 30th, 2010

Odisha government finally approaches SAIL for a medical college in Rourkela

Update: Following is from Samaja.

Following is an excerpt from a report in tathya.in.

Finally it seems Tarun Kanti Mishra has come to the rescue of thousands of citizens’ genuine demand for a Medical College at Rourkela.

Chief Secretary has taken up the issue with the Secretary of the Ministry of Steel.

Citizens were demanding for the ESIC Medical College in the Steel City for more than two years.

However ESIC decided to set up the Medical College here as the State Government offered land on the outskirts of the Capital City.

… While Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has proposed to up grade Bokaro Steel Plants’ hospital to a Medical College, similar move is needed feel, Mr.Mishra.

So the Chief Secretary discussed the matter with Union Secretary Steel to set up a Medical College at Rourkela under the aegis of Ispat General Hospital (IGH).

IGH is an excellent hospital and has lot of facilities along with top medical personnel.

Now the State Government will take up the issue with Chief Minister batting for the same, said sources.

Chief Minister is likely to discuss the issue with Union Minister Steel in this regard, said sources.

For long we have been urging the Odisha government to take up with SAIL for a medical college. Finally the Odisha government came to senses. I guess better late than never. In particular we pointed out that since SAIL is making a medical college in Bokaro, it should be pursued for one in Rourkela.  Following are some pointers regarding the medical college SAIL is making in Bokaro.

(i) News articles that mention this: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070226/asp/jamshedpur/story_7441681.asp

(ii) The web page of the Bokaro Ispat Educational trust which talks about this: http://www.bietrust.com/

(iii) The site http://www.hsccltd.com/secured%20projects.htm which mentions that its is doing a pre-feasibility study for SAIl medical college in Bokaro.

Also, some time back there was news that SAIL Rourkela was looking for renewing its mining lease. If it is still hanging, then it makes it a perfect time to broach this topic with SAIL management and the Steel Ministry in Delhi. (http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowBussinessNews.asp?id=8891 )

 Some of our earlier articles mentioning this point are at: 

• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/59.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/96.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/97.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/168.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1101.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1134.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1172.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/1465.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/3108.
• https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/4022.

10 comments May 17th, 2010

Application form for PG Diploma in Public Health Management at IIPH Bhubaneswar, Delhi, Gandhinagar and Hyderabad: Deadline May 31st 2010

The following is a jpg version of the application form found at http://www.phfi.org/downloads/pdf/Application%20form%20-%20PGDPHM.pdf.

See http://www.phfi.org/downloads/pdf/ for various other PHFI and IIPH documents and forms. They are not properly linked from the homepage.

6 comments May 16th, 2010

Mahanadi Institute of Medical Science and Research, MCL, Talcher, Odisha: Some details from tathya.in

Following are excerpts from a report in http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=4070.

… The institution has been named as “Mahanadi Institute of Medical Science and Research, MCL”. 

This will be a 500-bed Medical College and Hospital at Talcher in Angul district. 

Earlier the Board of Directors of MCL has already approved for setting up of a Medical College at Talcher by the coal company.

The institution will be managed by a trust.

Accordingly a trust has been formed and registered in the name of “Mahanadi Medical Education Trust” under Registration of Society Act-1860.

The CMD,MCL will be the Chairman of the Trust. 

… The Odisha Government recently gave its no-objection certificate (NOC), said a senior official in the Department of Health & Family Welfare. 

The Medical College would be set up on a 60 acre patch of land along the same lines as Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow. 

… Pending laying of Foundation Stone, all other activities required for the opening of the Medical College at Talcher are being taken.

In this regard a meeting of the Trust will be held very shortly to discuss the further course of action to be taken, said the release.

MCL will also upgrade its Nehru Shatabdi hospital to a super specialty hospital, said sources.

2 comments May 12th, 2010

CUO Koraput to offer Diploma in Public Health with the help of Public Health Foundation of India

Update: Following is from Samaja.

This is a good move. We need more locals in KBK with expertise in public health issues.

1 comment May 9th, 2010

IIPH Bhubaneswar starts with a 1 yr PG Diploma in Public Health Management

Note that currently this program (PG Diploma in Public Health Management) is not offered by AIPH Bhubaneswar. Currently AIPH offers a certificate in Public Health Management, PG Diploma in Public Health Informatics and MPH (in collaboration with Ravenshaw University).

May 4th, 2010

MCL Medical College foundation laying on April 30th; MCL to spend 300-400 crores for this college at Talcher: Samaja

April 26th, 2010

Admission notice for the Masters in Public Health program run by Ravenshaw University in collaboration with AIPH

April 26th, 2010

Govt. Dr. AC Homoeopathy Medical College Bhubaneswar to be taken over by the center and upgraded

Following is an excerpt from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=60830.

List of the Colleges, Institutions, Research Centres

 proposed to be established

 

ï‚·        The Central Government has approved following 3 new Institutions for establishment:

1.      All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi

2.      North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh

3.      North Eastern Institute of Ayurved& Homoeopathy, Shillong, Meghalaya

ï‚·        The Central Government has proposed to take over and upgrade following 9 State Government colleges:

1.      Institute of Post Graduate Teaching & Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar (Gujarat).

2.      Government Ayurvedic College, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala).

3.      Govt. R.A. Poddar Ayurvedic College, Worli, Mumbai.

4.      Government Ayurvedic College, Patna (Bihar).

5.      Rajiv Gandhi Govt. PG Ayurveda College, Paprola (Himachal Pradesh).

6.      Government Ayurvedic College, Guwahati (Assam).

7.      Govt. Ayurveda & Unani Tibbiya College, Karol Bagh, New Delhi.

8.      Govt. Dr. AC Homoeopathy Medical College, Bhubaneshwar (Orrisa).

9.      Govt. Nizamia Tibbi College, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh).

ï‚·        Establishment of 3 Central Research Institutes (Y&N) in Karnataka, Haryana and Manipur is in progress, after taking over free land from the State Governments

2 comments April 23rd, 2010

IIT act to be ammended to include medicine; Despite objections by the Health Ministry IIT Kharagpur to start medical school in collaboration with Indian Railways

Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, minister of state for HRD D Purandeshwari said the ministry has decided to amend the IIT Act, the law that governs IITs, to include medical science. The health ministry had said that IITs should not be allowed to start conventional courses in medicine.

The amendment, Purandeshwari said, would help IITs to offer programmes bringing together the diverse disciplines of medicine and engineering. Referring to the health ministry’s objection, she said, "However, appreciating the fact that the modern trends in medical education and research in technology and medicine in all the developed and most of the developing countries are seen hand-in-hand, the government proposes to incorporate `medicine’ in the IIT Act."

Purandeswari said the programme would bring the two important disciplines of medicine and engineering together.

… IIT Kharagpur has come up with a concrete proposal in this regard and plans to start a medical college in collaboration with Indian Railways. At a meeting of experts in the health ministry in February this year, it was observed that IITs should start courses on health information technology, biomedical engineering and e-health rather than running a hospital or starting MBBS courses.

There are several lessons that Odisha can draw from this.

• As Purna Mishra suggested in a comment, VSSUT and the VSS Medical College in Burla should combine to form a single university.
• NIT Rourkela and IIT Bhubaneswar should consider adding a medical college as part of the institute; NIT could include the proposed ESI medical college and IIT could include the proposed Railways medical college.

April 22nd, 2010

SCB Medical College to have a 30 crore center of excellence in Psychiatry: Dharitri

April 13th, 2010