Mumbai, Dec 19: The state will set up research cells in government medical colleges to identify common diseases, pinpoint their causes and devise counter-strategies.
Medical Education Minister Dr Vijaykumar Gavit told that the cells, to be created in a couple of months, would identify causes of diseases found commonly in their areas of operation, reasons for their occurrence, and examine whether the line of treatment offered was useful. The cells would conduct research to see what needs to be done to combat the diseases.
“Rural areas have little access to expert medical services and we are doing this to ensure they get specialised services,” said Gavit. He added that medical college students would also get exposure to a variety of cases, including atypical ones. “This will ensure good exposure both ways. We will aim at research from the preventive and curative point of view,” said Gavit.
The work would be outside the thesis medical students are required to complete. Gavit said the project would be started in all government medical colleges. “In areas where there are few medical colleges and more load is felt, it will be extended to private colleges,” added Gavit. He said a meeting of directors of private medical colleges and deemed universities would be called soon to contribute to the project.
The state has 14 government medical colleges at Ambejogai in Beed, Aurangabad, Latur, Nanded, Akola, Yavatmal, Nagpur (2), Dhule, Pune, Kolhapur, Miraj, Solapur and Grant Medical College (GMC) in Mumbai. The state also has four civic-run medical colleges, three in Mumbai and one in Thane, and a medical college run by the Government of India, the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), in Pune.
Gavit said they were also planning a panel comprising retired vice-chancellors, deans and professors to monitor the research conducted by these cells and ensure accountability.
–Agencies