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Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JS)

Mangaluru, Aug 8: Father Muller Medical College Hospital (FMMCH) has been granted accreditation by National Accreditation Board for Hospital and Health Care Providers (NABH), effective from August 3.

This was revealed at a press meet at FMMCH here on Saturday August 8 by Fr Patrick Rodrigues, director FMMCH.

"To our knowledge, Father Muller Medical College and Hospital is the only setup accredited not only by NABH but also by other accreditation boards. Father Muller Medical College has to its credit, accreditation by NAAC with "A" Grade and all the laboratories of FMMCH have been accredited by National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL). To the best of our knowledge ours is the first institution in the state to get accreditation by all the three bodies and probably one of the very few in the country," Fr Rodrigues said.

"The accreditation process started a few years back and with the continuous dedication and hard work of every staff of this Institution, we have over the years achieved this unique distinction. We are aware that with the accreditation, our responsibility towards the stake holders has increased quite considerably and we will make a concerted effort to keep up this achievement by striving to do our best. It is noteworthy to say that all this has streamlined most of the activities of Father Muller Medical College, Hospital and laboratory of the Institution and we hope to provide hi-tech and qualitative services not only to our patients but also to our other important stake holders, namely the students," he added.

"Father Muller Charitable Institution with a history of 135 years has been service-oriented right from the days of its inception, with the motto 'heal and comfort'. The Institution gradually transitioned into the academic field from 1980, and in 1991 PG programme was started and in 1999 the Medical College started functioning. The Institution also started collaboration with other universities in and out of the country for the benefit of students.

"Other educational institutions of Father Muller Charitable Institution namely Father Muller Homeopathic Medical College and Father Muller College of Nursing have been accredited with NAAC 'A' grade. One of our Institutions which is attached to Mangaluru University, Father Muller College of Speech and Hearing, is also accredited by NAAC. Our Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in this region. With over 1,500 outpatients and 1,000 inpatients everyday, it is considered one of the biggest in this district. We have the second largest psychiatric setup in the state. The institution also has over 40 intensive care beds and is the only hospital with Burs ICU. The Institution has a Leprosy Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre, probably one of its kind in this region," he said.

"The institution has introduced many a services, particularly in the field of oncology, wherein, we are proud to say we are one of the few institutions in this region to have a full-fledged radiation oncology team and fully qualified medical and surgical oncologists. The Institution has improved upon the existing facilities too, to meet the increasing demand of stake holders by having two MRI machines and two Cath Labs in the institution," he added.

Listing out future plans, Fr Rodrigues said, "A constant effort is on to enhance the infrastructure that is available on the campus and in the coming years a huge auditorium with 1,250 capacity, a state-of-the-art indoor stadium and a multi-storied parking complex are being constructed. A new super speciality wing is also in the pipeline.

"To provide safe environment and particularly to provide security to our lady students, the Institution has built an additional hostel inside the campus too. To accommodate the increasing student population, a modern hostel complex has also come up. A state-of-the-art rural health centre has been set up with all the facilities at Thumbay near our recently established hospital. Of late it has extended its activities to eight sub centers so as to serve the people at their doorsteps. The Institution is already in the process of establishing a simulation lab worth Rs 10 crore and in last year free care worth Rs 24 crore has been granted to deserving group of patients. Our parent university Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bengaluru has selected Father Muller Medical College for Smart University project," he said.

"We are indeed happy to face the new challenges and in our efforts to improve the facility in this Institution, we are looking forward to continuous support from all," he added.

Fr Richard Coelho, administrator, Fr Rudolph D'Sa, administrator of FMMC, Fr Ajith Menezes, assistant administrator, Dr J P Alva, dean of FMMCH and others were present