Increase in intake begins from current academic year
PANAJI
The Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has got approval to raise its intake of postgraduate students in multiple specialities including paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and general surgery, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane announced on Thursday.
The increase in intake will begin from the current academic year, he said. Calling it a proud moment, Rane said the increased intake at the postgraduate level is a step forward in strengthening Goa's healthcare.
The approval has come to increase the seats from six to eight for the MS in Obstetrics & Gynaecology programme and from six to seven for the MD in Radiodiagnosis course.
For paediatrics, the MD seats have been increased from seven to ten and the biggest increase in seats is for the MS in General Surgery, from the current six to 15.
Four more seats will also be added for the MD in pharmacology programme raising it to 10 seats.
Rane said the expansion of these postgraduate programmes at the GMCH will play a role in nurturing a robust pipeline of medical professionals and eventually help improve specialized healthcare services.
Meanwhile, public health facilities in the State including the GMC, the two district hospitals, sub-district hospitals and the network of community health centres and primary health centres will henceforth have a formal programme to address the threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and also reduce hospital-acquired infections.
The “Project Parivartan”, is a strategically designed intervention which is being implemented across 41 government healthcare facilities and is a collaborative project of the GMC, the Directorate of Health Services and Americares India Foundation.
The project is supported by Pfizer’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.
AMR is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a top public health and development threat globally and was a direct cause of 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2019.
Misuse and overuse of antibiotics in human, animal and plant healthcare is the primary driver of this resistance. India is particularly vulnerable with antibiotics use widespread and mostly unregulated.
Key features of the 'Parivartan' project include developing and implementing a state-wide Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) program, strengthening Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices across these 41 facilities, conducting baseline assessments to understand the current AMR situation in Goa and establishing effective surveillance tools to monitor trends in antibiotic resistance.
The project was launched in November last year with 19 professionals onboarded, oriented and trained.
