MADURAI: As many as 1,370 patients from the Tirumangalam Government Hospital (TGH) were referred to Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai for higher treatment, during a period of 2.5 years from January 2022 to June 2024, revealed an RTI reply, raising concern about the facilities available at TGH, located on the outskirts of Madurai city.
As per the RTI data, 184 persons were brought dead to TGH, 22,939 persons were treated as in-patients (IP) and 12,04,625 patients treated as out-patients (OP) during the period between January 2021- May 2024. Most of the patients, as learnt, are victims of road accidents, necessitating the creation of an Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative (TAEI) in the facility, said activists.
Speaking to TNIE, RTI activist A Veronica Mary expressed deep concern about the status of TGH and said, "Road accidents are prevalent in the locality, which includes national and state highways. Further, as the region borders rural segments, there is a high inflow of patients to TGH, indicating the significance of the medical facility. However, over 1,370 patients were referred to GRH from TGH, due to the absence of the Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative (TAEI) in the facility.
Flagging the frequently-occurring road accidents in the locality, a village nurse said, "Tirumangalam is located between Madurai city and Virudhunagar. As it offers a gateway to the southern district and is close to NH44, road accidents are prevalent on the route. Most of the victims tend to be bike riders under 40 years. Considering the situation, elderly persons are often hesitant to cross the NH after evening. Besides, several accident victims near T Kallupati, Kalligudi are mostly referred to TGH. But, when the cases are serious, they are directly transferred to GRH."
When contacted, an official from the health department (Madurai) told TNIE, "We are aware of the demand for TAEI at the Tirumangalam hospital and have also sent a proposal in this regard. However, certain norms under the health department are preventing the acceptance of the proposal. For instance, as specified under some norms, the distance between two TAEI centres should be more than 50 km. Also, the TAEI block should have CT Scan, high-tech ICU, neurological experts, ortho experts, ICU-COT, crash carts and other high-end equipment. The cost of these items runs over Rs 25 crore."