KOCHI: Sometime in 1996, when the People's Campaign for Decentralised Planning proposed decentralizing public health and health care activities, the People's Plan Coordinators in Thrikkakara panchayat found it was an ideal moment to moot the idea of a hospital in the panchayat, then a small village.
"The Panchayat only had two PHCs (primary health centres). For emergency treatment or where patients need to be admitted, there were no hospitals in Thrikkaraka. People had to travel to the city, from even outskirts of the area like Edachira, Chittethukara," said M M Abbas, who along with C R Neelakandan as People's Plan Coordinators pushed for a full-fledged hospital in the panchayat, which not only brought affordable high-quality treatment to the people but also in a holistic way. "Our concept was we should not only treat the patients but also strive for a healthy society," said Abbas, who was the hospital's first president and now a board member.
After getting the approval of the block-level expert committee and the district planning committee in November 1999, the hospital began functioning from the Thrikkakara panchayat building on June 13, 1999, with three beds, lab, pharmacy, ECG facilities with Rs 3 lakh investment, which was collected by enrolling members.
As the Thrikkakara Cooperative Hospital, the first hospital in Kerala which formed as part of the people's plan campaign celebrated its 22nd anniversary on Sunday, the hospital has come a long way.
Over the last 22 years, has well-established 20 departments including cardiology, urology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, general surgery, Ayurveda, ophthalmology, psychiatry and accident & emergency.
"We have now converted our proposed mother & child care facility to a 40-bed Corona ward to treat the Covid patients. This is a first-level treatment centre. We plan to make it a secondary treatment centre by procuring three ventilators. Further, we have received an oxygen tank. The plan is to make changes in the original design of the facility to provide oxygen supports in all bedsides," said M P Sukumaran Nair, the hospital's current president.
During these Covid times, the hospital is giving free door-delivery of medicines for bills above Rs 1,000. The Thrikkakara Cooperative Hospital can provide affordable healthcare despite paying its doctors good salaries is because it gets cheap funds. For instance, the hospital gets CSR contributions from companies such as BPCL, Petronet LNG, Cochin Shipyard, MLA funds, besides government grants and cheap loans from the Ernakulam District Cooperative Bank. P T Thomas, Thrikkakara MLA, gave Rs 60 lakh to the hospital during his last term.
Sukumaran Nair said the hospital has even more ambitious plans for the future. the hospital plans to set up a Cath Lab, cardiac ICU and other modern equipment costing Rs 2-2.5 crore. A critical care unit is planned at Rs 40 lakh, and a fully automatic laboratory at Rs 4 crore. "The DPR for the lab is ready," he said.
Sukumaran Nair said the expansion will be completed by the end of 2022. "We are repaying our loans on time, and our entire process is on ethical treatment. Profit is not our motive," he said.
Timeline
1996: People’s Campaign triggers hope for cooperative hospital in the panchayat
1998-99: Second annual plan under the People Campaign in Thrikkakara health action committee includes the construction of a cooperative hospital
November 1, 1998: Gets approval of block-level expert committee and the district planning committee; first meeting of promoters
March 1999: The Thrikkakara Grama Panchayat Cooperative Hospital Ltd registered as a Cooperative Society
April 4, 1999: First general body meeting
June 13, 1999: Hospital inaugurated with 3 beds, 3 doctors, 3 paramedical staff