TENKASI/TIRUNELVELI: Fifty two days have passed since Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian inaugurated a 18-bed pay ward, built at the cost of Rs 86.4 lakh, at the Government District Headquarters Hospital (GHQH) in Tenkasi, but the facility has not yet been made functional. Similarly, the Rs 1.25 crore pay ward at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) has also remains unused for about a year.
Subramanian inaugurated the pay ward at the Tenkasi hospital on August 24 in the presence of District Collector A K Kamal Kishore and Joint Director (Health Services) Dr Premalatha. It was set up by renovating an old building.
The TNIE visited the hospital on Wednesday and found the facility under lock. Sources said the ward has yet to receive furniture, including cots for patients. When contacted, Dr Premalatha said, except for furniture like cots, bureaus and sofas, air-conditioners, televisions and geysers have been installed in the ward. She assured that the ward would become functional within a week.
According to an official, the health department spent Rs 48 lakh on civil works and Rs 6 lakh on electrical work for the pay ward. “For furniture alone, Rs 32.4 lakh has been paid to the Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation and a co-operative society. We received some furniture on Wednesday,” the official added.
With the pay wards in both hospitals remain unused, an official, seeking anonymity, said the State government had not examined the feasibility of operating such facilities in terms of additional staff strength, managing payment-related issues with patients, and integrating the ward into the network hospital systems of various insurance agencies.