Udupi : Finally, decades–old govt. maternity and child care hospital downs its shutters
Udupi, September 24: The Haji Abdulla Hospital, known as the government maternity and child care hospital in the district which was the lifeline for the poor people, not only in the district, but also in neighbouring districts for almost eight decades downed its shutters officially on Monday.
From tomorrow, the hospital will be shifted to the Karnataka Government Koosamma Shambhu Shetty Haji Abdulla Memorial Mother and Child Care Hospital, constructed by the Bengaluru-based BRS Health and Research Institute of NRI businessman BR Shetty, just besides the old building.
After then President Pranab Mukherjee had inaugurated the hospital on November 19, 2017, the out-patient section was shifted to the new hospital building as per the agreement from last July. Almost half of the services of the government hospital were shifted then itself.
In a circular issued by the Commissioner of the Health and Family Welfare department on August 29, he directed the authorities to shift all the services including out-patient and in-patient divisions to the 200-bed multi-specialty hospital with immediate effect. With this, the Commissioner has directed to close the government Maternity and Child Care hospital permanently.
Known philanthropist of Udupi, Haji Abdulla had constructed the hospital in 1930s for the poor on a sprawling four acres of land. Later, the state government and the Health and Family Welfare department have agreed to give the land to the BRS Health and Research Institute Private Limited for 30 years lease. The BRS Health and Research Institute Private Limited has constructed 200 –bed hospital instead of 70-bed hospital on land behind the Mahatma Gandhi Government Primary School and named the hospital after ‘Karnataka Government Koosamma Shambhu Shetty Haji Abdulla Memorial Mother and Child Care Hospital’. The government has said that like in the previous hospital, all the services would be free in the new hospital also.
As per the agreement, the BRS Institute would demolish the existing Maternity and Child care Hospital and construct 400-bed capacity Centre Of Excellence Hospital (Super Specialty Hospital) and Community Health Facilities shortly.
Four docs hired
Total 31 staff including six specialist doctors were working in the previous Government Maternity and Child Care Hospital. Among them , the government has deputed four doctors including two pediatricians and two gynecologists to the new hospital on temporary basis. But he did not get any order for the remaining 27 staff including two doctors, said district surgeon Dr Madhusudhan Nayak.
As there was scarcity of doctors and staff, he had appealed the state government to depute all the staffs to the district hospital. Once again, he had written to the government seeking deputation of all the staff, he said.
Among in-patients, except the patients who will discharge in a couple of days, all the patients would be shifted to the new hospital, Dr Nayak said.
The government has asked him to send some of the equipment to the Vijayapura hospital and they would be sent. For remaining equipment, the decision would be taken as per the direction of the government, he said.
Though five maternity and gynecologists were appointed in the new hospital, two government doctors were deputed as the hospital may require them during emergency situation. As the new hospital did not get eligible pediatricians, two doctors were deputed from the old hospital, he said.
Scholar G Rajashekar said that the government benefit was the right of the people. But the service to be provided by the private would become a donation. The poor people have been getting the benefits as their rights and now onwards such facilities would not continue in the new hospital. It might affect the poor patients, he said.
4.64 lakh patients got treatment in last three years
Though the hospital has been serving in the centre of the city for the last eight decades, in the last three years, the hospital has treated 4, 64,176 poor patients. Among them, 4, 32, 756 patients were given treatment as out-patients and 31,420 got treatment as in-patients.
During 2016-17, total 1, 67, 203 out-patients and 11,925 in-patients, 1,79,761 out-patents and 13, 708 in-patients in 2017-18 and till August 2018-19, 85,792 out-patients and 5787 in-patients have got the treatment in the hospital.
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Kharge speaks with CPI's D Raja, seeks support for TVK
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has spoken with CPI general secretary D Raja and urged his party to support the TVK for the formation of a secular government in Tamil Nadu, sources said on Friday.
Sources said Kharge called Raja on Thursday to emphasise that the CPI should take an early decision so that the BJP does not get a chance to try and grab power through the backdoor.
Raja is understood to have said that CPI will consult its local allies, including the DMK, and decide on it soon.
The Congress, a long-time ally of the DMK, on Wednesday announced its support to actor-politician Vijay's TVK to form the government in Tamil Nadu and severed ties with the Dravidian major.
The DMK dubbed the act of Congress to snap ties with it and join forces with TVK as "backstabbing."
The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly in the April 23 polls. Though the Congress, which has five MLAs, has extended support to the TVK, the actor-politician-led party is still short of as many seats to touch 118, the majority mark.
The CPI executive committee, which met here on Friday over support to the TVK, is involved in weighing the pros and cons, the party said.
The Communist Party of India is keen on safeguarding its ideology and ensuring that a common minimum programme is followed in case the party decides to back the TVK, a source in the party said.
The CPI won two seats in the April 23 Assembly election in alliance with the DMK.
Earlier, CPI general secretary D Raja told PTI Videos that the party was keen on keeping the right wing away from the state.
"We will come to some conclusion and we want a stable government that will work in the interest of the state, keep away communal right-wing forces and uphold secular democratic values," Raja said, adding, the party's position would be clear by the evening
