Need to develop medical infrastructure further in Bihar: President

“Through technology, one can get help from experts in fields of education, research and treatment from any corner of the world. The doctors, present and past of the PMCH, can create a network in which they can do research and practice. This will not only benefit doctors but also patients,” said Murmu, while speaking at the centenary celebration of Patna Medical College at the Bapu Sabhagar of the Samrat Ashoka Convention Centre in Patna.

The President said though the Bihar government had done a lot to develop medical infrastructure in the state, more needed to be done.

“There is a need to develop more inclusive healthcare facilities in the state. The PMCH should collaborate with other hospitals in the country to come up with new research for the treatment of not only cancer but also other serious diseases,” she said.

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The President said the doctors of Bihar were famous in the country and abroad. People used to come here from far-off places for treatment. A stage came when good doctors migrated from here. Due to this, people were forced to go out of the state for quality treatment. Going to another city or state for treatment creates many problems, she said.

The President said decentralisation of good medical institutions across the country would prove helpful in removing the problems patients face when they go out of the state for treatment. “Cities like Chennai, Hyderabad Mumbai and Indore have developed centres for specialty treatment. Bihar should also develop many such centres,” she said.

“This would not only provide quality medical treatment to the people of Bihar but also boost the state’s economy,” the President said, adding that the PMCH and its alumni could greatly contribute to this endeavour with their experience.

The President said that doctors serve the people and society in the roles of researchers, therapists, teachers and counsellors and contribute to nation-building. She also urged them to make people aware of the importance of blood and organ donation.

Speaking on the occasion, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that there were very few (six) medical colleges when he came to power in November 2005, but now there were 12, with 14 more medical colleges in the pipeline. Kumar said that every district in the state would have a medical college.

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Without taking any name, Kumar took a veiled jibe at the RJD, when he said the medical infrastructure in the state was in a shambles when he took over the reins of the state. The average monthly patient footfall at primary health centres, which was 49 in 2005, had now gone up to 11,000, he said.

He said while the PMCH was being renovated to 5462 beds, the second biggest in terms of patient beds in the world, the remaining five old medical colleges were also being upgraded to 2,500 beds, while the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences was being scaled up to 3,000 beds.

Commenting on the poor roads and law and order conditions earlier, he said people would be scared to venture out of their homes in the evening but were not afraid now to stay out even till midnight.

He said the education system, too, had also got derailed, but his government had got it back on track. “They were not doing any work,” he said referring to the RJD regime, adding, “With safety and security of women, we also got 50% reservation for them.”

Kumar also credited the Prime Minister for supporting the state’s development initiatives.

Speaking on the occasion, Union health minister JP Nadda, who was born at the PMCH, said, “Today Bihar is among the leading states in the country in the field of healthcare due to the NDA government. Earlier, Bihar was counted from the bottom in terms of numbers, but now it is counted from the top.”

Except for Jammu-Kashmir, Bihar is the only state where the Central government has provided two All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) – one in Patna and another is being constructed in Darbhanga, said Nadda.

“Our government has undertaken the task of converting eight district hospitals in the state into medical colleges,” he said.

Earlier, Bihar’s health minister Mangal Pandey traced the history of the PMCH, which was established as the Temple Medical School in 1874 with the admission of 30 students. The medical school was shifted to Darbhanga later and Prince of Wales Medical College was established. The medical college, which later came to be known as the PMCH, was inaugurated on February 25, 1925.

The PMCH, said Pandey, was being renovated at a cost of ₹5,540 crore into a 5,462 bedded hospital.

The President arrived here on a two-day visit to Bihar on Tuesday. Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar received her at the airport. Both were present at the centenary function of the PMCH. The President will leave for Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.

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