Kerala - Kozhikode

Emergency care facilities at taluk hospital soon

KOZHIKODE: The Vadakara Taluk Hospital will be given adequate emergency care facilities soon.

The trauma care unit at the hospital, the work on which was completed some time back, will be inaugurated shortly. The casualty wing would be provided four more doctors and a blood bank will also be set up.

The assurances have come from Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy when a delegation met her and presented an action plan for the much-needed improvement of the hospital, Vadakara municipality health and education standing committee chairman Edayath Sreedharan said.

The delegation comprised N.K. Premnath and K.K. Lathika, MLAs, chairman of the Vadakara municipality T.P. Chandran, Thodannur block panchayat president K. Vijayan besides Mr. Sreedharan.

The present hospital building that comprises three wings accommodating the general hospital, women and children hospital and casualty built in 1953, would be remodelled. The three wings would be inter-connected to operate as one unit.

The facility of a freezer through provision of the MLA fund would be made operational.

The Vadakara municipality under the aegis of a specially set up committee had prepared the action plan for upgrading the Vadakara Municipal Taluk Headquarters Hospital to the status of a general hospital.

The project proposal was prepared to highlight the fact that the hospital lacked even basic amenities of a healthcare centre that catered to a six lakh population comprising the four block panchayats of Thuneri, Thodannur, Vadakara and Kunnummel.

The delegation met the Health Minister on November 26, and impressed upon her the need for urgent uplift of the hospital.

The provision of adequate emergency care at the hospital on the National Highway was vital, including facilities such as intensive care unit, oxygen and the like.

Mr. Sreedharan said a sum of Rs.1 crore was expected to be sanctioned through tsunami relief fund.

The hospital with bed strength of 210 caters to 270 to 300 in-patients on a regular basis. The number of out-patients treated here account for 1,000 to 1,500 and the present strength of 27 doctors was grossly inadequate.

The action plan proposes more number of doctors besides setting up of speciality departments. The project proposal highlights the gross inadequacies of the taluk hospital such as the need for more gynaecologists and speciality departments.

The other urgent needs of the health centre include a cardio-vascular unit and a intensive care facility.

The Vadakara Municipality Taluk Hospital was inaugurated in 1956 to cater to a small population. With four-fold population increase, there has been no corresponding uplift of the facilities at the hospital.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu