Scudder Memorial Hospital plans to start medical college

RANIPET: The 150-year-old Scudder Memorial Hospital (SMH) in Ranipet will in all likelihood seek National Medical Council (NMC) permission to start a medical college in a year’s time according to hospital’s medical superintendent Dr Anbu Suresh Rao.

Revealing this to DT Next he said, “we are presently working to get all clearances to ensure that when we apply for permission we will have everything ready for the mandated inspections.” The plan is to construct a new building to accommodate 300-beds in addition to the existing 250 beds in the present hospital and then link them so that both blocks will provide different services.

Asked about funds, he said, “we are in the process of garnering the necessary finances as we need Rs 185 crore for a new medical college.” If we are able to get this amount now, the proposed medical college will start first year admissions immediately, he added.

Asked about land for the proposed medical college, he said the present SMH campus has 40 acres land in two stretches. Keeping this in mind the present campus has updated and improved its sewage treatment plant (STP) while landscaping has also been done to make the campus attractive. “The Town and Country Planning Department has also been approached for various approvals which are expected to come through shortly,” he said and added that if the verdict in an ongoing court case was in favour of private parties then the amount for 60,000 square feet in the present campus will be only around Rs 7.50 per square foot.

“Though NMC mandates only 300 beds to start a medical college, we want to ensure at least 550 beds so that once the medical college becomes operational we will be able to meet all our needs ourselves,” he noted.