ISLAMABAD, April 7: Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has given provisional approval for the establishment of 50-seat Federal Medical and Dental College (FMDC) in the premises of the Pims, Dawn has learnt.

An official on condition of anonymity said that the members of the PMDC inspected the building and other facilities of the FMDC and checked its infrastructural suitability necessary for the smooth functioning of the medical college the other day.

Asked about the building of the FMDC, he said: “The administration of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has temporarily established the college at the building which was earlier used for day care and other activities.”

He said that the two-storey medical college building at Pims would house maximum disciplines while the students would have practical exposure that would definitely improve the health care service at the hospital.

He said: “In a few years, after getting financial assistance from the federal government to establish permanent building of the FMDC it will likely to be moved near to the National Institute of Health (NIH).”

The official said that almost 30 faculty members having vast experience and rich background were already hired a few months back.

“Professors, associate professors, assistant professors and demonstrators having experience in the teaching of anatomy, biochemistry, forensic medicines and other subjects related to basic sciences were all on board for the smooth operations of the medical college,” he said.

He said that pre-requisite of laboratories of histopathology, microbiology, chemical pathology and blood bank were already in place at the FMDC.

The official said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had already approved the establishment of the medical college and since then Federal Health Secretary Nargis Sethi had been pushing for early completion of all the formalities mandatory to get PMDC recognition.

Asked about the admission criteria in the FMDC, the official said: “We will follow the laid down PMDC procedure regarding the merit and the admissions will be given to the students on quota system.”

“There will be no effect on any department of Pims after the establishment of FMDC instead the services of the hospital will be improved with more research and quality education parallel to the hospital system,” he said.

Some of the faculty members at Pims had raised concerns that once the medical college was established, the services of several departments specifically outpatient departments would suffer, because of doctors' engagements at the FMDC.

Meanwhile, a health expert said there was a great need of a public sector quality medical institution in the federal capital.

“The government support for such initiatives is always helpful to produce better human resource needed for the medical profession,” he said.