New casualty, trauma facilities at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College by 2017

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If officials are to be believed, the work on the new Casualty and Trauma care block of the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital (MCH) that has been stuck for years will be completed before mid-2017. The existing causality wing is poorly equipped unlike the recently inaugurated Out-Patient (OP) block. Around 1,000 patients use the emergency services every day. Due to bad location, ambulances now have to go to the roundabout before stopping sideways near the casualty wing to drop patients. As per Medical College officials, the new facility could be ready in six months because brisk construction is in progress.

"Several hurdles had slowed down the work. First there was delay in availing funds from the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. Second, the High court had stayed the work for sometime after one of the members of the Hospital Development Society (HDS) sued the management for channelising the society's funds without its permission. Around Rs 4 crore was channelised for this work by HDS. Now the state has allotted an additional Rs 5 crore fund to complete the project," said a member of HDS. The new block will have a reception, triage and ICUs all at the floor level. There will also be eight new operation theatres.