Question : Medical Colleges for Commercial Operation

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is working on a proposal for handing over the district hospitals to private medical colleges for commercial operation on lease for defined period in the country, if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether such a step would not compromise access to healthcare for poor patients in the country, if so, the reaction of the Government thereto; and

(c) the corrective measures taken by the Government to fix accountability of private players if such a model is adopted?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)
(a) to (c): The regulations of Medical Council of India (MCI) allow establishment of a medical college under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Clause 2(5) of MCI’s Establishment of Medical College Regulations, 1999 prescribes that the appropriate Government may allow the utilization of the facilities of a hospital owned and managed by it for establishing a Medical College by a person/agency /trust/society / company by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding for this purpose. The hospital to be transferred should be minimum 300 beds with necessary infrastructural facilities capable of being developed into teaching institution for the proposed medical college. It has also been prescribed that while transferring the Government Hospital facility, the State Government may safeguard the interest of State particularly in respect of admission of students under Government Quota in the medical college, patient care and implementation of all government health programmes in affiliated Hospital of the medical college.