The Kerala government has approved the Rs.814 crore hospital modernisation project aimed at renovation, modernization and improvement of facilities at government hospitals in the state. The draft of the project was ratified at a cabinet meeting, and government sources claimed the same would be submitted to the World Bank shortly for financial aid.
The project is to be implemented by the state health department. All hospitals in the state from taluk level to medical colleges would be modernized by equipping latest treatment facilities.
The Rs.814 crore project targets to improve bed strength and OT facilities in 84 taluk and district hospitals within four years. Expensive cobalt therapy units for the Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram and audiometry units for ENT departments are also in the offing. These initiatives are bound to improve the requirements of the patients.
According to the Kerala State Planning Board statistics, 36.3 million people in the state use government hospitals. The Kerala government's spending per patient of Rs.11.54 is also the highest in the country. However , as per the A. Raman Kutty study, though the state's inputs in health care have not fallen, 20 million poor patients visiting taluk hospitals and medical college hospitals still go without beds, medicines and care. Of the government spending, 98 per cent went towards establishment costs, the Raman Kutty report maintains.
The project is the first such to be conceived by any state government so far. Though earlier plans were mooted to incorporate advanced technological means for patient care, nothing was put in place due to many reasons, the financial crisis being the main reason.