Assam: Only Gauhati Medical College offering treatment in all sanctioned departments, says Health minister

Only one medical college and hospital in Assam is currently offering treatment in all sanctioned departments, Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said in the state assembly. 

Replying to a question by Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed, Mahanta said the facility for treatment in all sanctioned departments is available only in Gauhati Medical College and Hospital. 

In the other 11 medical colleges in the state, treatment is not available in several departments, with the numbers ranging from three to 13, he said. 

Mahanta said in the newly opened Nalbari and Kokrajhar Medical College and Hospitals, permanent grade 3, 4 and nursing staff are yet to be appointed, though steps have been initiated in that direction. 

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Apart from the 12 medical colleges in the state, there are two ayurvedic colleges, where all sanctioned departments have been created and treatment in available in all the departments, he added. 

Excluding Gauhati, Dibrugarh and Silchar medical colleges, nine or more departments are yet to be created in the other nine medical colleges of the state, the minister said. 

Departments of CTVS, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Haematology, Neurology, Nephrology, Plastic Surgery, Paediatric Surgery and Urology have not been created in any of these nine medical colleges. 

Mahanta said that 2,438 doctors are currently working in the different medical colleges and another 456 doctors are needed. 

In reply to a query by AIUDF's Karim Uddin Barbhuiya, the minister said work on super speciality hospitals under JICA is underway in six medical colleges -- Silchar, Jorhat, Fakruddin Ali Ahmed Hospital (Barpeta), Tezpur, Diphu and Lakhimpur. 

He added that preliminary design work of all the super speciality hospitals has been completed and detailed design is being prepared now. Required land for all the super speciality hospitals has been arranged, he added.