Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Alumni pool in to improve services at Medical College Hospital

Thiruvananthapuram: The Trivandrum Medical College Alumni Association, which has on its rolls eminent doctors working in major medical institutions all over the world, has decided to step in, in a big way, to improve their alma mater, which has till date remained the last refuge for the poor seeking speciality care.

The first annual convention of the Trivandrum Medical College Alumni Association will be held here on December 22 and 23 at the C.O. Karunakaran Memorial Auditorium on the Medical College campus.

The Medical College Hospital (MCH), Thiruvananthapuram has for a long time been taxed by ever-increasing number of patients, severe lack of infrastructure, and growing demands and expectations of the public. While the institution has grown in many ways over the years – in terms of more speciality departments, modern treatment and diagnostic facilities and clinical excellence – the lack of certain basic amenities for patients and the thousands who visit the hospital on a daily basis has resulted in a poor public image for the institution.

The alumni association has decided to pool funds from all its members so that at least some of the long-felt needs of the institution can be met. As a first step towards improving public service, the association is setting up a modern information centre on the campus at a cost of Rs.15 lakh to provide all inpatient-related information, details of outpatient clinics, doctors in wards etc. Computerisation has already been completed at MCH and details of every patient in the wards can be obtained at this information centre. The association is also planning to open three or more professionally-run information kiosks and provide sign boards at vantage points on the vast campus.

The absence of an enquiry-cum-information point at MCH has been a major problem as thousands of visitors to the hospital often end up running from pillar to post seeking information and to find the location of various labs and diagnostic centres scattered around the campus.

This major initiative of the association is expected to be launched on December 22.

The organisation has also decided to take two wards – one each in MCH and SAT hospitals – and to develop and maintain these as model wards equipped with all modern facilities. The association is planning to spend at least Rs.50 lakh on developing each ward. The alumni association is also planning to provide scholarships to undergraduate medical students on the basis of merit and financial status.

Other projects in the offing include the opening of a low-cost canteen with the cooperation of Kudumbasree units, renovation of the old auditorium, development of a medical research lab and upgrading of the Learning Resource Centre for medical students.

The association has decided to organise regular Continuing Medical Education programmes for the Medical College faculty with the cooperation of senior alumni. An academic committee has already been set up for the purpose with G. Vijayaraghavan, eminent cardiologist, as the chairperson. The association has M. Krishnan Nair, former director of the Regional Cancer Centre, as its president and C. John Panicker as the secretary. Its 16-member advisory panel has several senior alumni, including the founder-director of Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, M.S. Valiathan.

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