Cath lab will soon be set up at Ernakulam Medical College, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

KOCHI: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that the government was determined to make Ernakulam Government Medical College a full-fledged one soon. Inaugurating the graduation ceremony of 85 students of the 2010 MBBS batch of the medical college, he said that in the first phase, the maternity and child welfare centre and a full-fledged cardiology department and cath lab will be set up. The buildings and other infrastructure will be readied for this and also for modern classrooms, he added. Once the medical college becomes self-sufficient, the issue of adding super-specialty wings will be taken up.

The setting up of the cancer centre was on the agenda of the government and the governing council meeting to be convened soon will discuss the issues, he said. Hence he was not making any declaration in this regard at the meeting. He also mentioned that actor Mammootty, who was present at the function, had raised the issue with him while sharing the dais. Since cancer cases in the state were rising above the national average, there was need of strong centres in Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.

While mentioning the nexus between doctors and drug firms, he said that certain persons had drawn his attention to the nexus between stray dog menace and the vaccine lobby. He also pointed to the expensive procedures like kidney transplants where one hospital charges Rs 3 lakh and others up to Rs 12 lakh. He added that government was looking into the issue and had sought a report. He exhorted the doctor community and the new graduates not to subject patients to unnecessary tests and scanning. Mr V.K. Ebrahim Kunju MLA, Prof K.V. Thomas MP, Mr P. Rajeev, ex-MP, Health University Vice-Chancellor Dr M.K. C. Nair, Mammootty and EMC principal Dr V.K. Sreekala also spoke on the occasion.