Kottayam: The number of surgeries conducted at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, has decreased significantly. Only a handful of surgeries were performed at the hospital last month. The situation is such that for surgeries to be conducted, money has to be deposited in advance.
The hospital authorities claim that the surgeries can be performed only if the patients pay in advance. Many patients are staying at lodges, hoping that the hurdle in the insurance card will be cleared soon.
This is the sorry state of affairs at the hospital, which CPM state secretary M V Govindan had praised during a debate and claimed that patients even from his native place are being sent here for surgeries.
The smooth functioning of the hospital has been hit ever since popular healthcare projects were discontinued and government assistance proved elusive.
The government has to give the hospital over Rs 19 crore for various projects. Around Rs 80 crore has to be paid to agencies supplying medicines. As dues piled up, the agencies have also reportedly discontinued the supply of medicines.
The operation theatres of the orthopaedic, surgery and cardiology departments, where the most number of surgeries were performed, are virtually in a closed state.
Even in the nephrology department, where more than 200 surgeries were held in a month, hardly any operations are being performed now. Only 55 surgeries were performed in the cardiothoracic department in the last 25 days. Normally, even up to 200 surgeries were conducted in a span of 25 days with government assistance.
