By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 17: Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh will visit Uttar Pradesh to study the medical college model in the northern Indian state.
The Centre helped Uttar Pradesh in setting up six medical colleges. The Meghalaya government plans to make the proposed Shillong Medical College and Hospital operational by September 2026.
“I will visit the six medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh for feedback on the model used,” Lyngdoh told reporters after a meeting on Friday to review the progress of the much-delayed medical college and hospitals in Shillong and Tura.
She said the Tura Medical College’s construction work is progressing well and is expected to be ready by 20260-27.
She said the government would have to look at technicalities such as doctors’ service rules apart from infrastructure. “The Centre has a model for teaching and non-teaching doctors,” she added.
The state government is also preparing for an inspection by the National Medical Council and affiliation from Captain Williamson Sangma State University as the process with NEHU has been taking a long time.
“We have constituted a society for Shillong Medical College and Hospital. We shall float an expression of interest to recruit doctors,” Lyngdoh said.
The government is also eyeing retired military doctors eligible for teaching.
Admitting that Tura Medical College will face challenges because of its remote location, she said the government is working on connectivity. She also said the government is working on a model with the Christian Medical College at Vellore.
The minister said the Shillong Medical College is a brownfield project where the government will utilise existing infrastructures such as Ganesh Das Hospital, Pasteur Lab, and Shillong Civil Hospital, which is likely to undergo expansion.
She said the Centre is assisting Meghalaya to make the two projects operational after negotiating the state and central shares.