Bengal government plans to set up more nursing institutes

To improve rural health infrastructure, the West Bengal government is planning to set up more nursing colleges in the state with the help of private hospitals.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday proposed the plan during a review meeting with the administrative and industrials heads of the state. She also said setting up of the institutes will create more jobs.

She asked the Principal Secretary of the Health Department Narayan Swarup Nigam to look into how the state can introduce more nursing institutes. Nigam was also present at the meeting.

“I would direct principal secretary of health department to look, if we can set up more nursing institutes in Bengal with the help of private hospitals,” Banerjee said.

“You just set up a team with doctors and nurses to observe their opinions regarding the proposals to set up nursing institutes,” she said.

At the meeting, Banerjee also appealed to the industrialists present to help in creating new nursing institutes and assured them that they would receive all necessary help from the state if need be.

More nursing institutes will mean more qualified nursing staff that can then work in rural areas and improve the health facilities in such areas, the CM said.

Diploma course in medicine
During the same meeting, Mamata Banerjee also suggested to introduce diploma courses in medicine amid the staff shortage in hospitals. She said, “There are many hospitals where there are no doctors or nurses. See if a diploma course can be introduced for doctors, like engineers.”

“The original doctors we are getting in training for five years are taking a lot of time. They must study; they must take exams. But as the hospitals are increasing, the population is increasing, the beds are increasing if parallelly a diploma course can be implemented at least in primary health centres, then it will be good for everyone,” she said.

The suggestion for diploma courses in medicine will now be looked at by a committee of three to four people. India Today