MCI team inspects medical college

A three-member team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) on Saturday inspected the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute to ascertain if the statutory infrastructure requirement for admitting its second batch of students had been fulfilled, officials at the Health Department told The Hindu on Sunday.

Infrastructure additions

The team visited the college and the hospital attached to it and made a comprehensive inspection on the infrastructure additions made over the last year.

The college was denied approval for commencing admissions last year after the MCI found deficiencies in several spheres.

The matter then went to the Madras High Court, which ordered a re-inspection. This was followed by the grant of approval by the MCI, and the first batch of 150 students was admitted through the Centralised Admissions Committee (CENTAC).

A senior official of the Health Department told

The Hindu that the team did not make any adverse observations.

The existing Government General Hospital was being gradually shifted to the hospital attached with the college and 400 beds have already been created for this purpose. The construction work for adding another 350 beds was in full swing, he said. The official also said that consequent to the creation of 400 beds in the new hospital, the bed strength in the Government General Hospital had been reduced to 500 from 730.

“The only remark made by the MCI was something connected to the safety of visitors as construction work was going on in the building. We assured them that all necessary precautions would be taken to ensure safety,” he said. The team is expected to submit its report on Monday.