Maharashtra: District hospitals to be converted to Medical Colleges, through PPP mode

Karad: As a two-pronged strategy to increase governments share of medical seats and make fee affordable for medical aspirants, a state government appointed committee has suggested that district hospitals be converted into medical colleges. This is to be done in the public private partnerships mode; support sought from parties like societies, trusts or not-for-profit companies. It is meant to cut costs for the government and also give fillip to opening of new medical institutions.

The government in turn is meant to benefit from this strategy by being given 25% seats in medical colleges. The fee to these seats being nominal; with an equal no of patients being treated free of cost in affiliated hospitals, under government schemes.

Private parties are to be allotted 15 % of the annual intake of students under an NRI quota, as an attempt to cross subsidise-government allotment. Higher fees is to be charged for this quota, as compensation. 75% of the remaining seats are to be filled through NEET merit, with patients being given treatment at subsidised costs or better still government rates.

A four member committee was appointed by the government in March, led by Dr.Ved Prakash Mishra, Chancellor, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University), Karad. The role of the committee was to examine setting up of medical institutions through the PPP model in districts by upgrading them into medical institutions, without the state contracting financial burden of any sort.

According to the committee's report the government will earn Rs.256 crores through quota admissions and free medical facilities, given out to patients under various plans.

"In terms of the illustration availed by the committee by an appropriate extrapolation of financial receipts and expenditures with regard to a medical college in the mode of PPP… the extent of admissions that can be availed by the state under its quota could be 25% of the total admissions annually and 25% of the patient care in the affiliated hospital of the said medical college vide transferring a 300-bedded district hospital to the society/trust or company concerned with a rider that 15% of the annual intake should be earmarked as the NRI quota towards which a higher chargeable fee would be compensating for the fee charged against 25% government quota as a cross-subsidy mode," the report added.

"We have worked out a financial model in which we have said (how) the Rs 60 crore contribution of the government by transferring the hospital can be protected," Mishra, who also Chairman, Medical Council of India's academic sub-committee, stated. At present, Maharashtra has a total of 16 government medical colleges.

Post graduate seats for the academic year 2016-17

(Degree courses)

Government: 612

BMC: 444

Central government institutions: 83

Total: 1,139

(In addition 261 diploma seats are also offered in these institutions)

MBBS intake capacity:

State government: 16 colleges: 2,300

Municipal Corporations: Five colleges: 610

Central government: Two colleges: 240

Unaided/ Private: 15 colleges: 1,770

Minority unaided: One college: 100

Deemed universities: 10 colleges: 1,675

Total: 6,695 seats