Care In The ‘Golden Hour’: All Medical Colleges To Get Emergency Departments By 2021-22 As Per Government Mandate

Having approved the setting up of 75 new medical colleges across the nation, all by 2021-22, the government has given another push to improve the medical facilities and access for people.

The Board of Governors, in place till the National Medical Council is appointed, has decided to make it mandatory for all the medical colleges in the country to have emergency departments by 2022. The decision will be notified by the Ministry of Health soon, post which the work on the ground will be initiated, reports Times of India.

As per official figures, there are only 30 medical colleges in the country with dedicated emergency medicine departments. With the government's decision to mandate the medical colleges to have such departments, the figure is ow expected to soar to 500.

Speaking on the decision, Chairman of the Board of Governors V K Paul said, "We want to develop a cadre of emergency medicine specialists so that one doesn't have to depend on referrals at the time of emergency. The objective is to strengthen interdisciplinary care and managerial care across the country.”