The Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday approved creation of 550 posts in the Government Medical Colleges at Patiala and Amritsar with the objective of further improving and streamlining the functioning of these institutions.The new posts would 66 paramedics of technical nature, 464 critical posts of nurses, technicians and class IV employees and 20 posts of VDRL/MRU lab projects, an official spokesperson disclosed after the meeting of the Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.These posts would be instrumental in putting into use the medical machinery, equipment and infrastructure, lying idle due to paucity of staff, thus providing better healthcare services to the people, said the spokesperson.In addition, the cabinet gave the nod for creation and filling up of five new posts in the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, along with revival of the already sanctioned nine posts under its restructuring plan.
The spokesperson said the Cabinet cleared the proposal for revival and filling up 464 vacant critical posts of Nurses, Technicians & Class IV employees in these medical colleges. Besides, 20 posts for the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VDRL)/Multi-disciplinary Research Units (MRU) project at Government Medical College, Patiala & Amritsar, have also been created. This initiative would help provide the latest laboratory tests to the general public, and also meet the minimum requisite conditions, in conformity with the guidelines of the Medical Council of India, so as to make these institutions research-oriented.It may be noted that a high power committee under the Chairmanship of Advisor Health and Medical Education Punjab Dr. K.K. Talwar, which was constituted for restructuring and revamping the medical colleges, had recommended the creation/revival of these posts in order to put into use the existing working machinery and equipment/infrastructure, and also to upgrade the facilities available in the Government Medical Colleges at Patiala and Amritsar.