A Correspondent
JORHAT, July 30: Admissions to the first batch of the newly-established Jorhat Medical College have started from today and classes are scheduled to begin from August 9.
Medical College principal Dr Dhruba Jyoti Borah said that 85 students of the State would be admitted in the first batch and 15 would be reserved for the Central quota. “If no one takes admission from the quota then the seats will be surrendered and we can fill up these from the waiting list,” Dr Borah said.
The Principal further said that both the girls and boys hostel were ready and that selected students would be asked to take up their accommodation from August 7. The boys hostel has a capacity of 60 seats while the girls hostel has 34 seats.
Dr Borah stated that four lecture halls were ready and that 112 teachers, demonstrators and clinical staff had been employed although only 57 were required for the first year. “We need three lecture halls of 120 seat capacity and one of 250 seat capacity which are already prepared and another one at the hospital from the next year when the students’ hospital visits begin,” he said.
A total of 175 nurses have also been recruited – 99 on contractual basis from NRHM while 36 others have been made regular, the latter to serve in the ICUs. The former Jorhat Civil Hospital which is now attached to the College also has 40 nurses.
The ICU has six beds while the ICCU has five beds and a proposal is on to construct an NICU for new-borns with five beds and paediatric ICU for children with 10 beds, taking the total upto 26. However, the CT scan machine and MRI scanner are yet to be installed forcing the medical authorities to refer emergency cases to Dibrugarh AMC or private nursing homes.
“Construction work is still on and we are yet to allot a permanent place for the two. But both should be in place in a couple of months,” Dr Borah said.
Moreover as this was an undergraduate college, a full fledged cardiologist and a  neurologist also had not been appointed as there was no provision of the two departments. “We will however, appoint one of each soon as service components,” he further said.
Dr Borah speaking about the future plans of the Medical College said that within this year, a Paramedical Institute would also be opened offering a two-year diploma course to 100 students – 40 lab technicians, 20 radiographers, five CT scan technicians, 10 ECG technicians and 10 MRI technicians.
Another section housed the training college for 100 GNM nurses. The students doing the three-year diploma in rural medicine would be shifted to a plot outside the campus, the construction work of which was on the verge of completion.
Meanwhile, a full fledged department in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation has been set up as a regular outdoor department in the Hospital. The department caters to occupational therapy, speech therapy, physiotherapy, etc.
“We also have a dietician and 24-hour dispensary,” Dr Borah said. Although construction work, to complete the exterior and a spacious round arena which would serve as a stage-cum-auditorium is still on, the spacious classrooms, labs and  well-stacked library with 50 computers with Internet connection are ready.