Himachal govt forms committee for Centres of Excellence in medical colleges

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has constituted a seven-member expert committee to set up Centres of Excellence in specialised departments across all government-run medical colleges in the state, officials said.

The Department of Medical Education and Research issued a notification regarding this on Saturday.

Dr DK Verma, Vice-Chancellor of Atal Medical Research University, Nerchowk, Mandi, will head the committee. Its members include Director of Medical Education and Research Dr Gopal Beri, Dr Milap Sharma, Principal of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, Dr Balbir Verma, Professor of General Medicine at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla, and Dr Puneet Mahajan, Professor of General Surgery at IGMC, reports PTI.

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Naresh Kumar Verma, Joint Director of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Nerchowk, has been appointed member secretary.

The committee has been tasked with identifying two to four departments in each government medical college, including Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialities (AIMSS), Chamiana, for developing Centres of Excellence to provide advanced multidisciplinary treatment for complex, rare and critical diseases.

It has also been directed to submit a detailed report within two weeks on requirements, including cutting-edge technology, infrastructure upgrades, additional manpower and financial implications.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday that the state government is considering granting Non-Practising Allowance (NPA) to Medical Officers (Specialist), while announcing an Rs 800-crore push to strengthen cancer care institutions across the state.

Chairing a meeting of the Health Department, Sukhu said the state government was committed to providing world-class healthcare services to patients within the state and had taken several steps in this regard, yielding positive outcomes, according to a statement issued here.

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