Odisha: Mandaviya inaugurates new hospital in Puri

SJMCH located at Puri is a part of 5 Medical Colleges created under a centrally sponsored scheme called ‘Establishment of New Medical Colleges linked to existing District/ Referral Hospitals’. With the inauguration of SJMCH, all the 5 medical colleges are now functional.

Under this scheme, preference is given to disadvantaged areas and aspirational districts, where there is no existing government or private medical college.

“The hospital will play a vital role in training doctors and providing good medical facilities to the people of Orissa,” Mandaviya said.

“All the hospitals under the scheme have been constructed at the cost of 945 crore, out of 567 crore (60%) financial contribution is from the central government,” the health ministry said in the statement.

According to the Health Ministry, two more hospitals have been approved at Jajpur and Kalahandi in Orissa with a central share. 150 crore and 100 crores respectively. These hospitals have been approved for Phase 2 and 3 under ‘Establishment of New Medical Colleges attached to existing District/ Referral Hospitals’.

The Central Government and the Orissa Government are working towards increasing MBBS and PG seats respectively in state-run and central government medical colleges.

Under the scheme – ‘Upgradation of existing State Government/Central Government Medical Colleges to increase MBBS seats in the country’, an amount of Rs. Rs 144 crore has been released by the central government to increase 200 MBBS seats in VSS Medical College, Burla and MKCG Medical College, Berhampur.

Similarly, under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for ‘Strengthening and Upgradation of Government Medical Colleges for augmentation of PG seats’, VSS Medical College at Burla, MKCG Medical College at Behrampur while a total of 107 seats in SCBs are proposed to be created. Medical College in Cuttack.

The Union Health Minister interacted with the aspiring medical students who will be a part of the inaugural batch of the hospital and exhorted them to work hard and serve in the far flung corners of the country so that healthcare reaches the last mile.