Gujarat has approved four public-private partnership medical colleges in Kheda, Mahisagar, Botad and Gir Somnath districts, with existing government hospitals to be upgraded into brownfield medical college and hospital facilities. The state health and family welfare department approved the proposals on Thursday, with the initiative aimed at expanding specialist healthcare access outside major urban centres.
Under the arrangement, private institutions will develop modern medical colleges and hospitals while using existing government healthcare infrastructure. The selected institutions will be responsible for upgrading the facilities and continuing the public services already available at the hospitals.
Shri Gayaprasad Jain Charitable Trust will develop the facility in Kheda district. In Mahisagar, the project has been assigned to Shri Swaminarayan Vishwamangal Gurukul, Kalol, under Swaminarayan University. Shri Chanakya Education and Charitable Trust, Veraval, will undertake the project in Gir Somnath, while Delta Millennium Medicare Pvt Ltd, Bhadiyad, Morbi, has been selected for Botad.
The government has stipulated that all existing free services must continue after the facilities are upgraded. The institutions will also have to provide free treatment to pregnant women and children aged between 20 days and one year.
The new facilities will be required to operate dialysis units with a minimum capacity of 10 beds. They must also ensure immediate free treatment for trauma and accident patients, requirements that place emergency and essential care obligations at the centre of the PPP model rather than limiting the projects to medical education.
Health minister Praful Pansheriya said the initiative was intended to improve the availability of specialist doctors at government hospitals and enable residents to access modern medical treatment within their own districts. The expansion is expected to link medical education with district healthcare delivery by adding teaching institutions to hospitals that already serve local populations.
A patient welfare committee will be formed for each hospital under the chairmanship of the respective district collector. According to the state government statement, the committees will oversee patient-oriented services at the hospitals.
The approvals establish the participating institutions and the service obligations attached to the projects. Further details on construction schedules, investment amounts, medical college capacity and the timeline for operationalisation were not provided in the announcement.
