Pics: Niranjan M N
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (JD)
Udupi, Oct 16: Udupi MLA Yashpal A Suvarna has slammed the state government over its plan to shift the existing taluk hospital to the newly constructed district hospital building at Ajjarkad without providing the required infrastructure, medical equipment, doctors and staff, alleging that the move amounts to playing with the health of the district's people.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, October 16, Suvarna condemned the government's decision to relocate the 120-bed taluk hospital to the new six-storey, 250-bed district hospital building without equipping it in accordance with the original detailed project report (DPR) or bringing it on a par with district hospitals elsewhere in Karnataka.
He alleged that the government had not sanctioned the required posts for doctors, nurses, technical personnel and other staff. Essential medical equipment, including scanning and X-ray machines, along with furniture, computers and printers, had also not been provided.
Arrangements for sanitation workers and the cleaning equipment needed to maintain the six-storey building were yet to be made, he added.
Expressing concern over the proposed relocation, Suvarna said the existing 120-bed hospital was being prepared for a shift without any additional facilities. He alleged that the government planned to move the same beds, which are around 30 years old and rusted, into the new building.
“If the hospital is shifted without the necessary medical facilities, it will merely be a change of building and not a fully functional district hospital capable of providing the promised services to the public,” he said.
The MLA alleged that despite repeatedly raising the issue during Assembly sessions over the past three years, the government had failed to release the necessary funds. He said he had submitted several representations and written to former chief minister Siddaramaiah, incumbent chief minister D K Shivakumar, former health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, present health minister U T Khader, former district in-charge minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar, present district in-charge minister Rizwan Arshad and the concerned officials. However, no concrete action had been taken, he claimed.
Suvarna further pointed out that the specialised treatment departments available in district hospitals elsewhere had not been sanctioned for the new Udupi District Hospital. Opening the facility without adequate infrastructure, he said, would dash the hopes of people who had waited for decades for a well-equipped district hospital. It would also hamper doctors' ability to provide proper treatment and leave patients facing further hardship.
He also objected to the decision to shift the hospital without taking the local MLA into confidence, accusing the state government of consistently neglecting Udupi district, particularly in providing essential healthcare services that directly affect people's lives.
Noting that 28 years had passed since Udupi district was formed, Suvarna urged the government to fulfil the people's long-standing demand by making the new district hospital fully operational, with all necessary facilities, without further delay.
He demanded that adequate doctors, nurses, technical personnel and other staff be appointed for the 250-bed hospital and that modern medical equipment, new beds, essential supplies and the required infrastructure be provided. The hospital should be opened to the public only after it is fully equipped and brought on a par with district hospitals elsewhere in the state, he insisted.
Suvarna said that when he sought clarification from health minister U T Khader about the proposed transfer of old equipment and beds to the new hospital, the minister had reportedly stated that he was unaware of the matter and would obtain details immediately before taking appropriate action.
The MLA warned that Khader should visit Udupi within a week and convene a meeting with all district MLAs and officials to discuss the issue and arrive at a suitable solution. Failing this, Suvarna said he would launch an overnight sit-in protest along with members of the public.
Former Udupi CMC president Prabhakar Poojary, former Zilla Panchayat president Dinakar Babu and BJP city president Dinesh Amin were present at the press conference.