Indira Gandhi Medical College Celebrates its Golden Jubilee

Shimla, October 13, 2015: Speaking on the occasion of Golden Jubilee celebration function of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) here today, Chief Minister Shri Virbhadra Singh said that it was a matter of great honour for any institution to complete 50 years of its existence and he was proud that IGMC, a pioneer health institution of the State had traversed a long successful journey in service of the people of the State providing them best of health services. The Chief Minister was presiding over the function along-with Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Col. Dr. Dhani Ram Shandil.

Set up in 1966, IGMC known as Snowdon hospital earlier, today stands as a well established centre of research and quality health services, fully equipped  with modern tools and machinery.

“Though much expansion has been done yet the government was working upon to set up a separate campus of the hospital in the suburbs of the town to cater to the needs of people”, he said adding that the process had been started to have second campus  of IGMC at Chamyana. He said that the new projects in pipe-line to strengthen the hospital were construction of new multi-storeyed OPD block near Auckland Tunnel, a super specialty block and new block of Kamla Nehru Hospital

Much has been done to provide the latest equipments  and advanced technology to the hospital, said the Chief Minister adding that as of today the hospital was having State of Art Computerized Tomography (CT)  and Medical Resonance Imaging (MRI)  facility, modern Cath labs, Virology labs, digital radiography. Mammography, Cobalt Unit etc and the hospital was linked with All India Institute of Medical Sciences, SG PGI, Lucknow and PGIMER Chandigarh through tele and video conferencing for valuable inputs, consultation and research in the field of medical science. “I am happy to know that more than 100 post Graduate specialists pass out from the college every year, he said.

“Today we can proudly say that the hospital expanded and developed during the regimes of the successive congress government” said Virbhadra adding that the Government would provide all support and assistance to the hospital in times to come so that the patients may not have to go out of the State and spend enormously for treatment of critical ailments.

Chief Minister said that it was decided in Cabinet on Monday that both IGMC and Dr Rajinder Prasad Medical Government College and Hospital at Tanda in Kangra would have a separate Emergency Medicine Department. He said that a separate State Hospital of Mother and Child was coming up in the campus of Kamla Nehru hospital which would be a part of IGMC.

Shri Virbhadra Singh said that the Government was committed to strengthen health infrastructure in rural areas of the State so that quality health services may be provided to the people at their door-steps and steps were being taken to fill all the vacant in far flung and rural areas of the State, said Virbhadra, adding that more health institutions were either being upgraded or opened in such areas.

Chief Minister also released a ‘Special Cover’ of Postal Department to mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations. He was also presented a stamp album and ‘Blow-up’ by the Chief Post Master General.

Earlier, Principal IGMC, Shri S.S Kaushal welcomed and honoured the Chief Minister and other guests and detailed various activities to be undertaken around the year to culminate in October 2016.

A colourful cultural presentation by students of Nursing also formed part of the celebrations.

Chief Post Master General, Major General A.K. Shori, Principal, Vice-Chancellor, Himachal Pradesh University Prof A. D. N. Bajpai, Director Medical Education, Dr. Jaishree, Director Dental Colleges, Dr. RP Luthra, Medical Superintendent Dr. Ramesh, Dr. Sanjeev Sharma, Dr. Piyush Kapila, Dr. Rajesh Sood, President Medical and Dental College Teachers Association and heads of all the departments of IGMC including the staff and students were present on the occasion amongst others.