G. Bhavaniprasad, professor emeritus and former principal of Kurnool Medical College, has said medical education in Seemandhra can take a severe beating if the State is divided.
Dr. Prasad said majority of seats in super-specialty courses offered by Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIIMS), Osmania Medical College and Gandhi Medical College, are located in Hyderabad.
If Hyderabad goes to Telangana, niche courses in medicine will not be available in Seemandhra. Only Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences at Tirupati and Narayana Medical College at Nellore offer a few super-specialty courses.
He said while the three Hyderabad institutes offer over 100 seats, Seemandhra colleges offer only 37 seats which include 11 seats in a private college.
He lamented that even though Kurnool Medical College had completed 56 years and treated the highest number of patients in any teaching hospital, the State was given a raw deal in terms of infrastructure. As a result, very few seats were sanctioned to the Kurnool Medical College by the Medical Council of India.
He said Kurnool Medical College was subjected to gross neglect for long by withholding resources. Dr. Prasad underscored the need for setting up an institute of the size of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in South India. Kurnool was suitable for such a venture because of plenty of open space available on the premises, huge turnover of patients with multiple disease burden, a large army of well-trained doctors and a longstanding tradition in medical care.
