It was in 2017 that the technical evaluation committee of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare approved the establishment of 5 new medical colleges, Govt Medical College, Anantnag being one among the five. While the institution had been operating from District Hospital Anantnag, the new campus at Dialgam has been partially completed with five buildings handed over and expected to be fully handed over likely by March of 2022.
Deputy Commissioner Anantnag, Dr Piyush Singla said that the college and associated hospital will provide much needed specialised patient care not only to District Anantnag but the adjoining districts as well. He said that owing to its proximity to NH44, the medical infrastructure will be instrumental in treatment of trauma cases. He emphasized that the college will reduce the referral rate from the district and minimize burden on tertiary care centres in Srinagar
The College Campus at Dialgam is spread over sprawling 20 acres of land and is being constructed at a cost of Rs 116 crores. The infrastructure at the new campus includes a total of 10 blocks spanning 31,287 square metres. These include administrative block, central library, laboratory cum lecture complex, 2 departmental blocks, Principal’s residence, accomodation for faculty and 2 hostel blocks that will house 472 students. The campus includes 4 lecture halls with a combined capacity of 500, a lecture theatre to seat 250 students at once, central library with a seating capacity of 200 people at any given time, a conference hall, an examination hall and 9 common laboratories.
Er Showkat Ahmad Dar, SE JKPCC, the implementing agency for the project said that the college campus has been meticulously planned with provisions of green spaces and keeping in consideration the environmental aspect of development.
He said that while 5 blocks have been handed over, the construction has been mostly completed and only internal finishing is under process in the remaining blocks and these will likely be handed over in March. He said that plans related to landscaping are at the approval stage and will be taken up simultaneously while the college is functioning.
GMC Anantnag has an annual intake capacity of 100 medical students and 100 nursing students. At present, two batches are pursuing their degree at the college. The nursing college caters to nursing colleges of Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian and also functions as the south campus of Islamic University of Science and Technology.
The college bestowed 58 member strong faculties catering to various departments including gynaecology, ophthalmology, ENT, Anaesthesia, Paediatrics and Radiology among others. The college has introduced special ophthalmological clinics for retina, glaucoma and cornea evaluations and phacoemulsification procedures have been started in the optha department.
In addition, laser assisted vitrectomy has been started along with anti vegf injection are given in routine for which patients previously had to go to PGI Chandigarh or Amritsar. In the psychiatric department, drug de addiction facility is being provided. In obstetrics and gynecology, laparoscopic surgeries are being conducted on regular basis. Similarly, the ENT wing is conducting navigation based ENT tumor removal procedures and advanced spinal surgeries are being undertaken by the orthopedic section. Owing to its proximity to NH44, the college is often the first destination for trauma cases and has an inflow of about 24 trauma patients on a daily basis.
The college has also been leveraging information and communication technology to impart modern education and training to its students. Recently, Dr Vikas Agarwal, Director Specialty ENT Hospital, Mumbai did a live demonstration of navigation based endoscopic surgery. Similar programs were hosted by other eminent physicians and surgeons from different parts of the country.
Dr Tariq Qureshi, Principal GMC Anantnag said that the the health institution is the first academic medical college in South Kashmir. He said that the college campus is nearing completion and probably by March, 2022, the new campus will be made completely functional.
He said that the college is catering to around 10,000 patients on a weekly basis and people do not have to travel to Srinagar for every other procedure. He said that along with the faculty, he is committed to bring GMC Anantnag at par with the best health institutions in the UT.
He said that the college has been receiving national recognition at various levels. Recently, Dr Ramshoo, HoD medicine at the college along with Dr Adil was awarded at a national level forum in Delhi. Similarly, Dr Qureshi’s academic paper was selected as the best by All India Ophthalmological society.
The hospital has been fitted with four state of the art oxygen plants to cater to oxygen requirements in normal times and as a contingent facility to tackle any jump in COVID cases. The college aims to introduce MRI facility, cath lab, advanced surgery in opthalmology, advanced dermatology laser centre, orthopedic advanced surgery in the near future so that people can take benefit of these facilities without having to travel long distances.
