South Goa likely to get medical college

PANAJI: The Goa government is contemplating a second medical college for the state, this time in South Goa . "It is being planned in keeping up with the central government's vision to increase medical seats," health minister Vishwajit Rane told TOI on Thursday.


"I have had a discussion with the Union health minister about setting up a new medical college in the state.

It will be located within a 10km radius of the new district hospital," Rane said.

Stating that a top institute could be invited to do the set-up, he said the plan will be finalised after obtaining approval from chief minister Pramod Sawant .

However, there is no clarity on whether the institute will be private or government-run.

Bed capacity to be increased to 800: Rane

Having a medical college in South Goa will be a proud moment for the people of the district,” Rane said.

The government-run Goa Medical College (GMC), the state’s only such institution, is located in Bambolim. GMC offers 180 seats for MBBS course. In a bid to boost the doctor-patient ratio, Rane said that it has been decided to increase the bed capacity of the South Goa district hospital to 750 or 800 from the earlier 500 beds. After an over two-year delay, the hospital is likely to be commissioned by the end of the year.

The added beds will be allocated to the top two floors of the hospital, which were earlier reserved for a nursing college.

The plan of housing a nursing college in the new hospital was recently scrapped with the approval of the chief minister, Rane said.

He denied that any change in the plan of the hospital would further delay commissioning of the hospital. “It is almost ready. We will commission it at the earliest,” he said.

With added beds, he said they will able to have super specialities such as orthopaedic, neurology and neurosurgery. “People of South Goa need not come to GMC at all,” he said.