Government Medical College, Patiala was proposed in October 1951 by the Patiala and East Punjab States Union government, under the First Five-Year Plan. The first batch was started on 29 September 1953. The classes initially started from the old building of the Rajindar Hospital, which later shifted to the Archives Department, located on The Mall Road, opposite the Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir Memorial Central State Library, about 2 kilometers from its current location. With the construction of the new Rajendra Hospital in 1953 the old hospital building was made available to house some of the offices of the PEPSU state. Currently the Archives Department is housed in the old Rajindar Hospital. The old Rajindar Hospital is a fine building outside the old town opposite the Baradari. The old Rajindar Hospital was a handsome, well-equipped building, with 56 beds, built in the time of the second Council of Regency in 1877. It was formally opened in January 1883. A thoroughly modern operation room was added to the building by Maharaja Rajindar Singh. The Dufferin Hospital close by the Rajindar Hospital was also built in the time of the second Council of Regency, the foundation stone having been laid in November 1888 and the building opened in October 1890. An Assistant Surgeon lent by the Government of the Punjab held charge of the Rajindar Hospital and was also Civil Surgeon of Patiala. Attached to the Rajindar Hospital was the female hospital under the charge of a Medical Lady Superintendent. The hospital is named after Maharaja Sir Rajinder Singh and it receives a notable mention in 1908 by The Imperial Gazetteer of India as the Rajindar Hospital. The hospital was known as Rajindar Hospital in pre-independence era, was mentioned as Rajendra Hospital for some time, and currently uses the name Rajindra Hospital. With its attached 1009-bed Rajindra Hospital + 121-bed TB hospital is one of the largest health institutions in the region. The attached central clinical laboratory with facilities for hematology, pathology, microbiology, biochemistry is known as Bhupindra Clinical Laboratory.
Location and campus
The college consists of an administrative block and self-contained blocks for the basic clinical departments. The college maintains a library, computer centre and a reading room for the use of students and staff members.
Affiliated hospitals
Rajindra Hospital, Patiala with 1009 beds was attached to the college in early 1951. The hospital was equipped with all the latest apparatus and instruments to make it fit for imparting clinical teaching to the students. Two well designed, spacious and well lighted lecture theatres equipped with arrangements for epidiascopes projections and audio visual aids were provided on the hospital side in addition to four lecture theatres of similar design on college side for basic departments. The department of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Medicine/Pulmonary Medicine is located in a separate campus, known as the Tuberculosis Centre, Patiala which started functioning on 25 July 1953 with 22 observation beds, 11 for male and 11 for female patients suffering from Tuberculosis. It is popularly known as TB Hospital or Padma Shri Dr.Khushdeva Singh Chest Diseases Hospital, and currently has a capacity of 121 beds. Primary health centres at Bhadson, Kauli and Tripuri are attached with this college for teaching purposes. The college famous in India as GOMCO is affiliated to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot for MBBS, BDS and various other courses. The Facilities for postgraduate training leading to MD/MS degrees exist in almost all the basic and clinical subjects. Recently the PG admission process has been unnecessarily made strict. An advanced trauma centre is under construction. with about of covered area, about a 100-bed facility with services of General Surgery, Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Burns/plastic surgery, ICU, Rehab. unit, Lab. facility, complete with all associated inhouse services. There are three hostels, two for girls and one for boys. The girls hostel are called GH1 and GH2. The boys hostel is called SBH. In addition to this there is one hostel in the Rajindra Hospital also for Doctors/Interns/House surgeons. The college has a very spacious auditorium, big play ground and an open-air theatre. The college is governed by Director Research and Medical Education, Punjab and is affiliated to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot.
University
Govt. Medical College Patiala is affiliated to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences Faridkot, Established in the memory of great Sufi Saint Baba Farid by Punjab government in July, 1900 by an Act of the State Legislature, which was established in 1999.
