The Hindu : Master plan to upgrade MCH as centre of excellence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 11, 2004

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Master plan to upgrade MCH as centre of excellence

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 10. A master plan to upgrade the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital to a centre of excellence is being prepared with the broader objective of giving primacy to the long-term progress of the premier institution and evolving a blueprint for the development of other Medical Colleges in the State.

The long-term proposal would focus on the key areas of strengthening infrastructure, creation of new and advanced facilities, improvement of laboratories, upgradation of skills and greater advocacy of Information Technology tools in health care delivery. The state of the equipment and staff pattern of clinicians and support staff as well as collegiate infrastructure will also be assessed as part of the process.

Top officials of the Health Department have convened a series of meetings with the hospital authorities and heads of various departments to identify and prioritise the development goals on a long-term basis. The next meeting is scheduled on Monday.

"We expect a concrete and comprehensive plan to be ready for submission to the Planning Board by the middle of February," K. Ramamoorthy, Health Secretary, told . The proposal forms part of the Tenth Plan objectives of upgradation of clinical and non-clinical facilities at all the Medical Colleges in the State. According to Mr. Ramamoorthi, the expansion plan of the Medical College here would more or less form the template for upgrading other Medical Colleges in the State.

As envisaged, the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College would have an allocation of Rs.16 crores for the remaining three years of the Tenth Plan and the works would be commenced once the project gets clearance from the Planning Board. The next phase of development would be conceived and implemented during the 11th Plan. The commissioning of a professional consultancy agency to prepare an appropriate project detailing the needs and setting out priorities that would pass muster in the expert evaluation by the Planning Board is also under consideration of the Government, it is learnt.

According to sources in the Medical College, the proposal presented an opportunity to pursue a comprehensive development path and steer clear of the `centralised and in-bound' model which had resulted in the skewed development of the Medical College. The modernisation effort over the years, it is being pointed out, has been clustered within the radius of a few kilometres in the heart of the highly congested campus leaving over 100 acres lying unutilised. With individual departments vying for prime space to create new facilities on an ad hoc basis, the pattern of growth has been lop-sided in the 50-year-old history of the institution.

"Given the state of affairs today, one department can grow any further only by appropriating the space of an adjoining unit. A development plan with a long-term vision should certainly be the best prescription for the State's pioneering collegiate hospital," a senior clinician remarked.

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