The British East India Company established the Indian Medical Service (IMS) in 1764 to look after Europeans in British India. On 9th May 1822, the British Government laid down a plan to fill the position of native doctors in the civil and military establishments of the Presidency of Bengal. The hospital wants to be distinguished as a leader among medical institutions by providing exemplary medical education, higher training, safe patient care, quality research, innovations through community collaboration and commitment to serving the underserved. 

Objectives of the Institute are to develop a high standard of medical education i.e. patterns of teaching in undergraduate, postgraduate and super specialised medical education; to deliver excellent patient and family-focused care in state-of-the-art hospital facilities; to bring out advanced knowledge through high-end research activities and to improve the health of the medically underserved community in rural as well as urban areas. The hospital caters to over 40 specialities and runs a free treatment scheme for poor patients. For general patients, the treatment cost is subsidized on a no-profit basis.