COIMBATORE: Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) staff are upset as the government has not made any positive announcement on two projects proposed to develop the hospital — construction of a new OP block and establishment of a branch hospital at the Coimbatore Medical College campus.
The existing OP block, which was declared unsafe, has been vacated, and a DPR has been submitted for a new one. But officials are confused, as both projects are being kept pending without consideration.
The Public Works Department (PWD) has finalised architectural blueprints for Ground plus eight (G+8) storied replacement structure for a main, high-capacity outpatient block.
A Detailed Project Report (DPR) with an estimated cost of `97 crore was officially submitted to the state government. But, it remains locked in the administrative pipeline awaiting fiscal clearance and formal policy sanction, said sources.
"It will take at least four years for construction if it is cleared now. Already, the hospital campus is suffocating with crowds as there is no space availability. Demolishing the old OP and kick-starting the new project will be the only option to manage the difficulties.
The government should consider it as soon as possible," said a senior official from the hospital. The official said another major plan — establishing a branch hospital for CMCH at its Coimbatore Medical College (CMC) campus on Avinashi Road near Hope College — is also on hold.
The main CMCH campus faces heavy overcrowding. Moreover, patients from neighbouring districts frequently lose valuable time during the golden hour trying to cross city traffic to reach the main hospital.
Therefore, the district administration, after detailed discussions, proposed to construct a 500-bed branch hospital at Coimbatore Medical College campus. The plan was to shift seven major departments, which can run independently, and the branch was proposed at `550 crore. Despite presentations given to the department, it has not received a financial green light, leaving its timeline entirely stalled, according to the official.
They pointed out that the core bottleneck is bureaucratic hesitation regarding funding allocation.
"No announcements were given on these two projects during the recent budgetary allocation followed by the discussions on demands for grants. Both projects carry heavy capital requirements and state health officials have stalled on deciding whether to prioritise the immediate rebuilding of the OP block or the branch campus.
This lack of clear direction leaves the hospital administration stranded with half-implemented relocation setups and no long-term timeline," the official added. Despite several attempts, Health Minister KG Arunraj was not available for comments