Himachal proposes expansion of PG medical seats from 277 to 597

Shimla, Jul 18 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government has proposed increasing the number of postgraduate (PG) medical seats in government medical colleges from 277 to 597 to strengthen healthcare services and medical education, officials said on Saturday. The proposed expansion will create more opportunities for aspiring doctors to pursue PG within the state, help address the shortage of specialist doctors across various disciplines and improve healthcare services, according to an official statement. The enhanced intake of PG students will also strengthen patient care in government medical colleges, as PG doctors play an important role in delivering clinical services while supporting medical education and specialised healthcare, the statement said. Apart from AIIMS Bilaspur, there are six government medical colleges in Himachal Pradesh. Under a newly proposed expansion, the number of PG seats at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, will increase from 139 to 230, while seats at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, will rise from 99 to 156. The number of PG seats at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Mandi, will rise from 24 to 79, while Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar Government Medical College, Nahan, will see an increase from 3 to 35 seats. The proposed intake will also increase PG seats at Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru Government Medical College, Chamba, from 4 to 32 and at Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College, Hamirpur, from eight to 65. To support the expansion, the state government has created 218 posts of senior residents and tutor specialists in government medical colleges over the last three years. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said senior residents form the backbone of tertiary healthcare institutions and play an important role in patient care, medical education, research and clinical training. He said increasing postgraduate seats would help develop a skilled medical workforce capable of meeting the growing healthcare needs of the people. Strengthening medical education and expanding specialist training capacity are among the priorities of the state government, Sukhu said, adding that these initiatives would improve healthcare outcomes and reduce the need for patients to travel outside the state for specialised treatment. PTI BPL SMV SMV MDO MDO