Introduction

HISTORY OF MEDICAL COLLEGE, AMRITSAR

Medical College, Amritsar started as a Medical School at  Lahore in1864, by the Britishers and continued there as Medical School till 1920,when it was shifted to the holy city of Amritsar under the guidance of Principal Lt.Col.D.W.Sutherland ( 1917-20 ) . The students were admitted after Matric and the period of study was four years. The certificate awarded after the completion of study was L.S.M.F. by the Punjab State Medical Faculty. The Principals who followed were Major R.A. Chambers (1921-47) and Col.B.L.Taneja (1947).

In 1943, the Govt.decided to upgrade it to Medical College. The foundation stone was laid by Lt.Col.Nawab Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana, premier of Punjab on  Feb.1.1944 and the Medical  College, was named after His Excellency the then Governor as Glancy Medical College, Amritsar. The degree awarded was MBBS. The first batch of MBBS student passed out in 1949 and M.B.B.S. degree was recognized by Medical Council of India.

The present Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, originally known as V.J.Hospital started functioning in 1891 (now completed more than 118 years) and was named as Victoria Jubilee Hospital, as a part of celebration of  the Jubilee years of Queen Victoria reign. The foundation stone of the hospital was laid by lady Lyall w/o Sir James B.Lyall, who was Lt.Governor of Punjab in November, 1891. The hospital was attached to Medical School for giving clinical training   to the students. Sant Ram Hospital named after the famous Obst & Gynaeeologist Dr.Sant Ram Dhall was at one time the Dissection Hall of Medical Student in 1930’s has been demolished & at that place Jallian Wala Bagh Memorial Hospital has been built.

A & B Block of the Hostel and the main building of the college facing the play ground were built in 1929 and was designed on the lines of Cambridge University of England.

At the time of partition, the Medical College, Amritsar was only 3 years old. The job of giving medical aid to the refugees and the health administration set up was assigned to Lt.Col.B.S.Nat, who was the Medical Superintendent of V.J. Hospital and later on was promoted to Director Health Services and Education. Much of the expansion of V.J.Hospital, we owe to him. The college has been celebrating All India Inter-Medical College Hockey Tournament in his memory.

Post graduate degrees and diplomas were started after partition and much expansion of  the college and hospital took place thereafter, adding Ram Saran Dass Parkash Wati Kakkar Children Ward and Family Ward ( Nov. 1950), T.B.Sanitorium, Ram Lal Eye and E.N.T.Hospital. The Mental Hospital was also attached to Medical College, under Dr.Vidya Sagar to give Psychiatric training to the student. The college has sufficient equipment and bed strength to meet the requirement of Medial Council of India for recognition of MBBS and post graduation degrees in various specialities.

The college and hospital complex is spread over an area of 8kms, which is one of the biggest establishments of India.

Immediately after Independence, the institution remained a source of excellent patient care to a vast area of the country like Punjab, Himachal, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and also Afghanistan. The institution also provided brilliant doctors and medical scientists, not only to prestigious institution of India like All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and P.G.I. Chandigarh but also to many institutions of various countries of the world, particularly U.K., U.S.A. Canada etc.

Much of the land on the North side attached to the Medical College was purchased by S.Partap Singh Kairon, the then Chief Minister of Punjab, under the guidance of Principal Dr.Santokh Singh Anand in 1960. Dr Santokh Singh Anand later joined as Director, PGI Chandigarh in 1962.

The construction of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital was started on this land by the Punjab Govt, in 1969 (Nov), when the foundation stone was laid by Dr.D.C Pavate, the then Governor of Punjab, as a part of 500th birthday celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.Subsequently Biochemistry and Physiology Blocks were added. The college library and auditorium was built in 1982-85.

Guru Ram Das Center of Emergency  and Multispecialty care, a 200 bedded hospital was dedicated to the people of Punjab by Hon’ble Chief Minister  of Punjab S.Prakash Singh Badal on 31-1-2008. CT scan has been installed in the public private partnership mode. Lab service has been upgraded with installation of auto analyzer.
Blood Bank has been declared as a Model Blood Bank in the state and it is in the process of up gradation. ART Centre for treatment of AIDS patients has been started and CD4 cell counter has been installed.

Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) centre, Prevention of Parent To Child Transmission (PPTCT) facilities, Integrated Center for Testing and Counseling (ICTC) are also functioning efficiently.

Bebe  Nanki Center for Mother and Child Care, Shri Guru Teg  Bahadur Block for Imaging and Diagnostic with Super specialty wards, Swami Vivekananda Drug Dependence Center and a new Nursing College are in the pipeline.

Recently it has also been selected for up gradation on the pattern of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) which will be great boost to the medical education & health services in the region.