The union minister of health and family welfare, Mr Ghulam
Nabi Azad announced here today that the government is initiating sweeping changes in
the Medical Council of India with a view to giving boost to enhance teacher-student
ratio in medical colleges and other institutions throughout the country and also for
producing more MBBS, MDs and paramedicos.  There is also an ambitious plan to increase
the number of post-graduate seats and upgradation of medical facilities and other
infrastructure in medical colleges.  The medical college at Amritsar in Punjab was
among the 19 medical colleges which are being upgraded to the level of top medical
institutes to be upgraded with the expenditure of Rs.100 crore each, the minister
revealed.  

    The health minister said six new multi-specialty advanced medical institutes
are coming up in the states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand,
Jharkhand and Bihar.  With this the overburden of patients visiting the PGIMER at
Chandigarh from these far off and adjoining states will be lessened, he said.

    Mr Azad said 15,000 medical specialists are being added to the existing
medical institutes in India.  More avenues of employment will also be made available
to nurses, ANMs and other para-medical staff with the expansion of urban health
mission side by side the rural health mission.  The government, he said has chalked
out stringent and foolproof measures to ensure the effective implementation of pre and
post-natal care of women besides immunization programmes of children in which names
will have to be recorded of the persons getting the medical care measures whereby no
health official could be in a position to make false claims as to the number of people
having been provided medical care.

    Earlier, Mr Azad inaugurated the Clinical Block-II of the Dr H.S. Judge
Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital on the Panjab University South campus by
unveiling of the plaque.  He also planted a tree on the premises of the clinical
block.  Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, union minister of parliamentary affairs and water
resources, who presided over the function, also planted a tree.  The Panjab University
Vice-Chancellor Professor R.C. Sobti too joined the visiting dignitaries and planted a
tree nearby.

    The health minister complimented Dr H.S. Judge, an NRI dental doctor for his
generous financial contribution in setting up the dental institute on the campus and
assured government’s full support for further development of the institute saying step-
motherly treatment would never be thought of to be given to the institute.

    The health minister pointed to the serious health hazards like developing oral
cancer and dental problems caused by the use of tobacco, particularly by using
smokeless tobacco.  

    He said plans are also afoot to find out ways on how to provide employment to
the doctors having ayurvedic and Unani system qualifications.

    Speaking on the occasion Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, minister of parliamentary
affairs and water resources informed that the Panjab University was the only
university in the country to have a full-fledged dental college of its own.  He said
the institute has proven its worth in rendering dental care services to a large number
of people in the tricity and other areas and urged the health minister to see that the
institute did not suffer any problem at governmental level at
anytime.

    Earlier, the Panjab University Vice-Chancellor, Prof R.C. Sobti traced the
glorious history of the university and informed about the university having been
ranked high globally among reputed educational institutes of the world.  Prof Sobti
also proposed that the university could join the PGIMER Chandigarh for the production
of skilled medical manpower (by PU) and faculty (by PGI) and make the optimum
utilisation of available infrastructure and expansion of services.

    The health minister was taken round the clinical block and shown various state-
of-the-art facilities and 102 dental chairs added in the new block.  

    Among the other important dignitaries who visited the institute included the
union secretary health Dr. V.M. Katoch, Prof K.K. Talwar, Director, PGIMER,
Chandigarh. Dr. K. Gauba, director-principal of the institute, Prof B.S. Brar, Dean
University Instructions and a large number of syndics and senators also joined the
ceremony.       
        Dr K.K. Talwar, Director, PGIMER, Chandigarh and Dean, Faculty of Medical
Science, Panjab University presented a vote of thanks.

    Before the functioning of this Dental Block-II Dental Institute had three
Dental clinics with about 100 Dental Chairs and units from where infact 8 clinical
departments were functioning.  In order to meet the target of DCI and Ministry of
Health and family Welfare norms, this new Dental Clinical Block-II has been added and
with this all the eight full-fledged Dental Clinical Departments have started
functioning separately and independently and these new clinics which have been added
are Oral Maxillofacial Clinic with independent Major and Minor Operation Theatres,
Conservative and Endodontic clinic, Periodontic Clinic and Public Health (Community)
Dentistry Clinic alongwith their attached laboratories.  With the addition of this
clinical block, the institute is now equipped with over 200 Dental Chairs and units
with facility of micro surgery and Chairside Radiovisiography.  
    
    Panjab University has already started construction of its own 200 bedded
hospital which is progressing very fast and this would not only provide training and
teaching of BDS students in General Medicine and General Surgery but would also impart
effective, efficient patient care and health care services to the people of Chandigarh
and adjoining areas catering to their necessary demand of better health care services
in the tricity.  

                                         Press Note No.13
AK/PS