The Chief Minister was speaking after inaugurating 15 new projects worth over ₹180 crores at the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital. He expressed his pride and happiness, saying these improvements would greatly help the people of the state. He described the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College as a pillar of Kerala’s health sector and a source of pride, serving not only people from Kerala but also from neighboring states.
He highlighted that in the last nine years alone, the government has allocated ₹2,069 crores to this institution, which has improved its facilities and patient care. Vijayan called these projects a symbol of the government’s strong commitment to improving the health and lives of its people.
The Chief Minister credited KIIFB funds for enabling various development projects in the state. He recalled that before 2016, many important sectors were in decline. The government realized that these issues could not be fixed with the budget alone, so they created KIIFB. While some people dismissed this plan as a pipe dream, the government was able to complete ₹62,000 crores worth of development in five years, and now that number has increased to ₹90,000 crores. He noted that over ₹10,000 crores of development in the health sector alone came from KIIFB.
He said the new facilities will bring revolutionary changes to patient care, help with better diagnosis and treatment, and lower healthcare costs for the common person. He acknowledged the significant roles of both government and private hospitals in Kerala’s health sector. However, he expressed concern about a new trend where large corporations are investing in private hospitals without changing the hospital name or leadership. He believes this is not for the public good and is leading to a major increase in treatment costs, which is a new problem for Kerala’s healthcare. This makes the role of medical colleges even more important, and he said the government has succeeded in increasing super-specialty facilities. He added that the Aardram Mission has brought about significant changes in the health sector, with the government spending ₹1,600 crores on free treatment. He mentioned that these diverse development projects have earned the state national recognition.
Attempts to Replace Government Hospitals, Says Minister Veena George
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In her address, Health Minister Veena George called it unfortunate that some people are trying to portray the health department as failing in order to replace government hospitals with others. She stressed that government hospitals are a necessity for the common people and that despite these efforts, the government will continue to work even harder to support ordinary citizens.
She stated that the medical education sector has made a historic leap in infrastructure development, and there have been major changes in the area of treatment as well. The state has seen the highest number of medical education seats during this government’s term, with two new medical colleges and 15 nursing colleges being started. The government also secured over 80 new PG seats and launched fellowship programs. New departments have also been started, including Critical Care, Genetics, Geriatrics, and Pediatric Intervention Neurology.
She proudly mentioned that SAT Hospital became one of the ten Centers of Excellence for rare diseases in the country. The “CARE” project, which was implemented for the treatment of rare diseases, has gained national attention. For the first time, a government medical college was included in the national ranking list. She also noted a significant increase in free medical treatment.
The event was attended by Education Minister V. Sivankutty, Food and Public Distribution Minister G.R. Anil, MLA Kadakampally Surendran, District Panchayat President D. Suresh Kumar, and KIIFB CEO Dr. K.M. Abraham, among other officials.
With input from KeralaNews.Gov
For more details: Navamalayalam.com
