The Kerala Government is planning to modernize 118 state hospitals as model hospitals, including three district hospitals and a dozen taluk hospitals, at an investment of Rs.20 crore.

Planned under the ongoing Modernizing Government Programme (MGP) of the state to improve efficiency and effectiveness of administration, the model hospitals are planned to offer futuristic standards in healthcare delivery, infrastructure and services.

These hospitals will drastically improve their services to patients and will display all the requisite facilities that have to be offered to patients at the hospital. The people will review performance of the model hospitals periodically, through the existing mechanisms of community participation in administration like Grama Sabhas.

According to sources, the Steering Committee of Government Secretaries of the state administration to plan and implement MGP has drafted a detailed report on this, and will submit the report before the cabinet for approval, next week. Once approved, modernization of the identified hospitals will start within a month's time, and will complete before March 31, next year.

The committee has recommended modernizing and making the district hospitals at Kozhikkode, Wyanad and Eranakulam as the proposed model hospitals, besides upgrading facilities of district hospitals in the backward districts of Idukki, Wyanad and Malappuram.

The proposed Model Taluk hospitals are at Varkkala, Nenmara, North Paravur, Peerumedu, Thodupuzha, Nilambur, Koilandi, Perambra, Sultanbatheri and Thiruvalla. Community Health Centres in Vizhinjam, Anchuthengu, Kadakkal, Mayynad, Veliyanad, Karukachal, Malippuram, Agali, Venkara, Vadanappalli, Kuttiyadi, Parumala and Nedungandam will become 'Model Community Health Centres.'

The committee has also identified a dozen odd Primary Health Centres in each district of the state to be upgraded and modernized as 'Model Primary Health Centres', said sources.