Patna: The hospital and college wings of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital will be brought under one roof, chief minister Nitish Kumar announced on Saturday.

Nitish announced the decision at the inauguration of the centre of excellence for diagnostics at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) in Agamkuan in Patna City. While the hospital is in Agamkuan, the medical college is in Bahadurpur, about 4km away. So, the teachers, students and doctors who have to travel between the places on a bus have been demanding for a long time that the hospital and college be brought together.

Nitish also said the medical college and hospital would be upgraded - from accommodation of 750 patients it will go up to 2,500 beds in phases. It will have an MRI facility so that the patients do not have to go to Patna Medical College Hospital or AIIMS-New Delhi.

The college right now admits 100 students in a session but that would go up to 250 soon.

The government also plans to make an agreement with companies supplying medical apparatus to update the old machines. Nitish said amendment have been made to existing rules to ensure proper disbursement of medicine among NMCH patients.

"The Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Limited will look after the disbursement of medicine among patients and purchase of equipment in government hospitals," Nitish said, adding that the state would get eight more medical colleges.

Health minister Mangal Pandey was also present at the programme, and said the NMCH would be developed as a model hospital. The diagnostic centre opened on Saturday has been set up at a cost of Rs 43.5 crore. "The state government is committed to provide people better health facilities," Pandey said.