Private medical colleges may mentor BPHCs under West Bengal's rural healthcare plan
The West Bengal government is exploring a partnership between private medical colleges and government-run block primary health centres (BPHCs) to improve rural healthcare infrastructure and services, while also providing medical students with greater exposure to patients, a minister said.
West Bengal Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee said the proposal was still at a preliminary stage and the government was examining ways for private medical colleges to work with the public healthcare system to strengthen facilities and services at the grassroots level.
"We will provide them with patients, and they provide us with infrastructure," Mukherjee said on Saturday evening, explaining the broad framework of the proposed arrangement.
The state currently has 17 operational private medical colleges and is considering a model under which each college could mentor around 10 BPHCs, he said while interacting with the Forum for Business, Social and Cultural Initiatives (FBSC).
Under the proposed arrangement, the government would facilitate patient flow to the health centres, while private medical colleges could support them by improving infrastructure and providing manpower, Mukherjee said.
"If we can give 10 BPHCs per medical college, then it will be better," he said, adding that private institutions could contribute equipment such as ultrasonography machines and semi-auto analysers, besides trained nursing personnel.
The government, in turn, could provide doctors and other staff, creating a collaborative system to strengthen the rural healthcare network, he said.
Mukherjee said BPHCs, which generally have around 20 beds and can cater to 30 or more patients, could also serve as important clinical training centres for students of private medical colleges.
"Healthcare teaching depends solely on patients. Without patients, you cannot make a doctor," he said.
The minister said discussions on the proposed model were underway with the association of private medical colleges. The partnership, he said, could help address two issues simultaneously, inadequate infrastructure at rural healthcare facilities and limited patient exposure for medical students.
Mukherjee also said the state government was working towards establishing six new medical colleges and an AIIMS-like institution in north Bengal. It was also developing a trauma centre in south Bengal, he said.
