THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ever had a hard time locating departments or other important facilities at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital? The issue came up in the Assembly on Wednesday with MLAs pointing out that patients were put to severe hardships at the hospital as many important, often linked, facilities were not located close to each other.
"The casualty is located at one end, and another facility like scanning could be at the other end. The patient would die before he was taken from one place to the other,’’ K S Sabarinadhan MLA said. Health Minister K K Shylaja attributed the problem to the manner in which hospital buildings are planned in the state. Often, new facilities are added depending on the availability of funds, resulting in haphazard hospital designs.
The government hoped to address the problems specific to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital with the implementation of the `400 crore modernisation project announced last year. It had earmarked the money for implementing a master plan crafted by the district administration, the medical college alumni association and Habitat Tech Group.
‘’The master plan is ready. The Health Department is hoping for funds through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB),’’ the minister said in the House on Wednesday. The sprawling campus located in the northern part of the city has several other hospitals in addition to the Medical College Hospital, including the Regional Cancer Centre, the SAT Hospital and the Sree Chitra Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology.