Mysore/Mysuru: The Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) — Karnataka’s first and India’s seventh medical institute — will celebrate its 100-year anniversary in 2024, and elaborate plans are being made to mark the occasion.

The institute was initially established in the Victoria Hospital campus in Bengaluru in 1924. It was later relocated to Mysuru two years after its inception. According to historical records, academic activities began in August. The 75th anniversary was celebrated in August as well, and now plans are underway for the centenary celebration, also scheduled for August 2024.

At the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA) meeting held at the office of the Deputy Commissioner yesterday, Mysuru-Kodagu MP PratapSimha asked the MMC&RI Dean and Director Dr. K.R. Dakshayani to send proposals to the State Government seeking a special grant from the State Government to support various centenary projects and initiatives.

The institute intends to establish a dedicated facility for outpatient care within the premises of K.R. Hospital and the aim is to consolidate all Out Patient Department (OPD) services in one location, thus relieving the congestion at the K.R. Hospital, Dr.Dakshayani told the meeting.

Every day, over 2,000 outpatients are handled here daily and by bringing OPD services and diagnostic labs together, the aim is to simplify procedures and alleviate overcrowding of the main hospital campus. As there is a crunch of space in the K.R. Hospital premises, MMC&RI is planning to construct the OPD complex by demolishing the non-heritagespecial wards wing.

In addition to the OPD complex, the MP asked the MMC&RI Dean to submit a proposal to the State and Central Governments to set up a 100-bed dialysis centre within the K.R. Hospital premises. He underlined the huge demand for dialysis among patients who are forced to go to private establishments paying huge sums of money.

Responding to the MP, Dr.Dakshayani said that a separate dialysis unit can be set up at PKTB Sanatorium. A 20-bed dialysis unit has been set up at the Princess Krishnajammanni Super Speciality Hospital and the K.R. Hospital is handling 20 to 25 dialysis cases per day in the available 20 beds, she said.

The MP asked the Dean to submit the proposal for at least 45 beds within the K.R. Hospital premises. The earlier BJP Government has funded  Rs. 89.5 crore for the restoration of K.R. Hospital, Cheluvamba Hospital and PKTB Sanatorium, and MMC&RI aims to complete the restoration works by 2024. Repairs and restoration works have already been taken up at 14 places, Dr.Dakshayani told the meeting.