BERHAMPUR: A three-member team of the Medical Council of India (MCI), on a two-day visit from yesterday to MKCG Medical College and Hospital, reviewed the infrastructure needed to increase the MBBS seats of the college from 107 to 150. After a visit to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, the team was here on a similar mission.
The team led by Dr Sanjay Vijwe, wholetime inspector of MCI, Dr Seema Madan, Prof and HoD, Anatomy, Gandhi Medical College, Hyderabad, and Dr Mukesh Kalra, Prof of Orthopaedics, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, visited various departments of the hospital and reviewed the necessary facilities like staff strength and infrastructure, including equipment and clinical facilities.
As per the MCI guidelines, the functioning of the medical college, that seeks enhancement of MBBS intake capacity, would be reviewed for five consecutive years. The visiting team takes stock of the achievement of annual targets fixed by the MCI.
The seats of the MKCG Medical College were increased from 107 to 150 in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 and the renewals were made by the Health Ministry basing on reports of the MCI teams. The MCI team was in the college to renew the enhanced seats for 2009-10 academic year.
If the seat enhancement proposal gets the nod of the council for another two years, the college would achieve the target so as to permanently increase the MBBS seats to 150.
‘‘Though the team will submit its report to the MCI, we are hopeful that the council will give the green signal to admit 150 students in the coming academic year since almost all the infrastructure requirements had already been met,’’ said a source.
The college principal, the hospital superintendent and the heads of departments of the hospital accompanied the team members.
The State Government has been repeatedly urging the MCI to increase the number of MBBS seats in the three medical colleges of the State, but the council is only according conditional approval to increase the seats from 107 to 150 for the last three years.