Thiruvananthapuram: Nearly ten months after state government decided to shelve the general hospital medical college project, a proposal to set up super speciality hospital is being actively considered at different levels. Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) has prepared a draft proposal regarding the super speciality project with multi disciplinary facilities. It will be submitted to the government shortly. The doctors want the project to be implemented under the Ardram Mission which also seeks to put in place super specialty facilities in health service sector. The KGMOA has pointed out that there is not even a single super speciality hospital under the state health services department at the moment.
By introducing such facilities in the district and general hospitals, the department would be able to provide super speciality services to people outside medical college hospitals. The 75,000 sq feet five storey building which was constructed for setting up medical college on the general hospital premises is currently lying unused. There is no concrete plan yet on how to utilise the space for health care services. Doctors say the building is ideal for starting the first super speciality hospital in the health services sector in the state. Located near the surgical block and dialysis Centre the building also has a separate entry from the Director of Health Services office side.
At the moment there are specialists in neurology, cardiology, urology, plastic surgery in some of health department hospitals. Cath labs are functioning in Palakkad and Ernakulam general hospitals. More specialities can be introduced if government expands the existing infrastructure facilities on the ground. “It is difficult to get a specialist for consultation after 1 pm in city especially in the public sector. You have to depend on private hospitals where again the consultants may not be available after 2 pm. So it would be ideal to have super speciality facilities in the government sector,” said Dr Vijayakrishnan, KGMOA district president. Doctors say after the ban on private practice, medical college doctors are not available for consultations after hospital hours. “It is high time government though of opening evening counters in select public hospitals,” said a doctor.
