The Chennai-based Centre for Traditional Medicines & Research (CTMR) has approached the government of Tamil Nadu with a request to consider a special budgetary allocation exclusively for the development of the Government Siddha Medical College at Palayamkottai in Thirunelveli district. The college is preparing to celebrate its golden jubilee this year.

The college and the attached hospital are facing serious infrastructural inadequacies and dearth of medical and paramedical staff which have affected functioning of several departments for years. The Siddha medical college at Palayamkottai was started on November 30, 1964.

Dr T Thirunarayanan, secretary of CTMR, after handing over the memorandum to the state health secretary, told Pharmabiz that a team of alumni assembled at the CTMR and took a decision to request the government for a special budgetary allocation for the development of the institute. He said when the college is celebrating its golden jubilee this year, it cannot be expected that it will bring cheers to patients, students, medical staff and other general public.

The traditional medicine research centre wanted the government to develop and uplift the college to the levels of model institutes like National Institute of Siddha (Chennai) and the Gujarat Ayurvedic University for standalone PG studies in ISM.

Currently 980 students including 100 internees are studying at the institute for UG, PG and paramedical courses, but the bed capacity for the hospital attached to the medical college is only 200. The number of out-patients (OP) coming to the hospital everyday comes around 1000. The medical college, hospital, pharmacy, manufacturing plant, ladies’ hostel, internees’ quarters etc. are located within the 3.2 acres of land which is inadequate to house all these facilities and accommodate both the student population and the floating patient population. The infrastructure inadequacies include the deficiency of drinking water facility also, the Centre alleged.

Dr Thirunarayanan said, though Ultra-sonogram and x- ray facilities are made available here, both the units are inoperative for almost two years. So far, no radiologist has been appointed to operate the units and the situation has impacted deficiency in hospital services as well as PG research studies.

“The hospital consulting rooms, both in UG departments and specialty PG departments, are overcrowded (roughly 30 PG students sit in one OP room) and often disturbing the visiting patients. The OP strength per student is grossly low. If the PG department and the affiliated hospital are moved to a new location, it will enable more patients from the vicinity and faraway places utilize the services. The essential drug list published by the department of Ayush lists 340 drugs for teaching institutes. The pharmacy at the Palayamkottai medical college is not in a position to manufacture even one third of the listed drugs. Most commonly required drugs are out of stock on most of the days,” the letter given to the government says.

The former students opined that like PHCs and GH, medicines for teaching hospital could also be outsourced from reputed GMP compliant factories till the hospital pharmacy was upgraded.

The college has no full time Principal and majority of the faculty members are working on deputation. The shortage of teaching staff not only creates problems for the students, but also for the inflow of 1000 out patients visiting the hospital every day.