Set up GMCH in G’chiroli by 2021: State govt

Vaibhav Ganjapure | TNN | Apr 22, 2020, 04:47 IST

Nagpur: In some good news for the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli, a Maharashtra government panel has recommended establishing a government medical college and hospital (GMCH) in the district by next year.
In a meeting conducted by the newly-appointed guardian minister Vijay Wadettiwar on Tuesday, he directed the PWD officials in the backward district to expedite the process to set up GMCH, as per the senior government officials who were part of the entire process.
“The minister asked the PWD superintendent and other officials to come up with drawings to establish the institution and agreed to release funds worth Rs10 crore for the process,” officials told TOI.
According to them, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) had constituted a panel under Chandrapur GMCH dean Dr SS More to explore whether the institution could be set up in the tribal-dominated district.
“It was decided to start the GMCH at district hospital already having 400 beds, which fulfils 90% requirements as per rules. This included the 100-bedded women hospital. The only problem DMER would face is in getting faculty — professors, lecturers, and resident doctors. Because of it being a backward district, it would be slightly difficult to get this manpower,” the officials said, adding that the entire process of setting up GMCH would take at least a year.
The Dr More-led panel submitted its report on February 10, but since then there was no progress. It was only after the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court pulled up government authorities to set up Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratories (VRDL) at places like Gadchiroli for Covid-19 testing, that they swung into action and directed PWD officials to expedite the process.
Dr Rajesh Surpam, professor at department of microbiology, Dr Shilesh Dhawane, professor at department of forensic science, and chief administrative officer Sanjeev Rathod were the other members in the panel led by Dr More. All are from Chandrapur GMCH.
“We were told to conduct an inspection with regards to infrastructure and equipment in Gadchiroli. We were also asked to find out whether sufficient human resources like doctors, nurses and other health care workers would be available there. After examining all the aspects, we’ve submitted a positive report to the government for opening of GMCH,” a panel member told TOI.