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Medical college will ensure quality medicare

S. Prasad

FOR THE MASSES: The Dharmapuri District Headquarters Hospital. — PHOTO: N. BASHKARAN

Dharmapuri: The State Government in the Budget announced that the backward district of Dharmapuri would have a medical college.

The announcement has given a ray of hope to the district, which has poor health indices compared to those in other districts.

The district has the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the State. Cases of female infanticide and foeticide are also high here.

The 400-bed district headquarters hospital caters to 1,750 to 2,000 outpatients every day and has 350 inpatients on an average. But it does not have enough infrastructure and manpower.

Lack of specialists in surgery, psychiatry, dermatology, venereology, nephrology and urology in the hospital has resulted in cases being referred to either Salem or Bangalore. The hospital does not have a cancer ward, a burns ward and an intensive coronary care unit (ICCU).

It is a major referral centre for many rural pockets in Pennagaram and Harur, but acute shortage of doctors and other para-medical staff has hampered its functioning.

According to Dharmapuri MP Dr. R. Senthil: "The establishment of a Government Medical College Hospital will ensure round-the-clock emergency care in orthopaedics, cardiac and other specialist departments. The existing infrastructure in the Dharmapuri Government Hospital will also be upgraded which will benefit the poor from far-flung areas of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts."

The district administration has identified three locations: at Pennagaram Road, Harur Road and NH-7 near Nallampalli for the proposed medical college hospital.

A high-level delegation from the State Government will visit Dharmapuri to finalise the location, said Collector Pankaj Kumar Bansal.

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