TIRUNELVELI: Doctors from Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) have alleged that the hospital administration has not shown interest in making the pay ward inaugurated by Health Minister Ma Subramanian in November 2024 fully functional.
They added that the Rs 1.10 crore first-floor ward does not have a ramp or lift to transport patients. According to TvMCH administration, the ward comprises around 15 private rooms, and each room is furnished with amenities such as sofas, single cots, a television, a water heater, and attached bathrooms.
The daily charges were fixed at Rs 1,000 for single occupancy, Rs 1,500 for two people, and Rs 2,000 for four. However, the ward has not been made fully functional by the TvMCH administration. The management only ends up shifting a few patients to the ward when some media reports about its poor condition.
Another doctor from the general medical department alleged that the ward was set up in an old nursing students' hostel, which was abandoned after a new hostel was built.
He said, "There is no ramp or lift to access the building, and still the administration claims that they spent `1.10 core to construct the ward. Instead of wasting the taxpayers' money like this, the health department should have provided pieces of equipment that would actually benefit patients."
When TNIE contacted TvMCH dean Revathy Balan, she said that the hospital has admitted patients to the pay ward some five to six times so far. "We always keep the ward open to the public. If patients are willing, we are ready to admit them there."
When she was asked how patients would be brought to the first floor without a ramp or lift, she said patients who cannot climb stairs are not admitted to these wards.
When TNIE tried to contact the director of Medical Education, J Sangumani, he could not be reached.