THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister KN Balagopal stayed away from grand announcements for the health sector in the budget. According to experts, the financial stress would have forced the minister to stick to the routine allocations. The minister would have exercised caution as the activities of the National Health Mission struggled due to lack of support from the Centre, they said. Though Balagopal mooted plans for transforming Kerala into a medical hub with specialised facilities in medical colleges for the treatment of patients including those from abroad, there was no specific allocation in the speech.
He spoke about creating a government remittance account as a facility for the public to make voluntary donations to government hospitals. However, details of the funding are not known yet. Besides, hospital management committees already have a mechanism to collect private funds for hospital operations. “The budget is silent on creating more posts in government hospitals proportionate to the demand. The government needs to think seriously about recruiting more doctors, nurses, sanitation workers etc in order to ensure quality service,” said Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) state president Dr T N Suresh.
According to Dr Rosenara Beegum, state president of Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA), a cursory glance at the budget found that it was inadequate to address the infrastructural challenges in government medical colleges, especially the newly created ones. An amount of Rs 401.24 crore is allocated for the overall development of the medical education sector of the state.
Experts are worried about the meagre allocation of Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi (KASP). Balagopal could set aside only Rs 678.54 crore for the implementation of Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi in 2024-25 even when the government owes over Rs 1,129 crore to hospitals for the treatment offered under the scheme. A total of 566 hospitals, including 202 government hospitals and 364 private hospitals, have been empanelled currently under KASP.
key allocations
Medical and public health sector: Rs 2052.23 cr
Development of mental health centres : Rs 6.60 cr
Control of communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases : Rs 12 cr each
De-addiction centres in tribal and coastal areas: Rs 10 cr
State share for National Health Mission Scheme: Rs 465.20 cr
E-health programme: Rs 27.60 cr
KASP: Rs 678.54 cr
Overall development of the medical education sector: Rs 401.24 cr
Surgical robot at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College: Rs 29 cr
Regional Cancer Centre: Rs 73 cr
Malabar Cancer Centre : Rs 28 cr
Cochin Cancer Research Centre: Rs 14.5 cr