Colleges May Mentor BPHCs
The West Bengal government is considering a partnership between private medical colleges and government-run Block Primary Health Centres (BPHCs) to improve healthcare infrastructure and services in rural areas.
The proposal is still at an early stage. As per ThePrint, the state has 17 operational private medical colleges and is exploring a model under which each college could mentor around 10 BPHCs.
Shared Infrastructure and Resources
Under the proposed arrangement, the government would facilitate patient flow to the centres, while private medical colleges could support them with infrastructure, equipment and manpower. This could include ultrasonography machines, semi-auto analysers and trained nursing staff. In turn, the government would provide doctors and other healthcare personnel.
Boosting Clinical Training
Moreover, BPHCs, which generally have around 20 beds and can treat 30 or more patients, could serve as clinical training centres for medical students. The initiative aims to address two challenges simultaneously—gaps in rural healthcare infrastructure and limited patient exposure for medical students.
The state is also working on establishing six new medical colleges and an AIIMS-like institution in North Bengal, along with a trauma centre in South Bengal.