He said that in coordination with the Finance Department, new posts of doctors and support staff will be created and that new appointments will be made in hospitals including primary health centres.
Mr. Muraleedharan was speaking after laying the foundation stone for the new critical care block at Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram here on Tuesday.
The new critical care block is one among the 631 such facilities being created across the country under the Centre’s Pradhan Manthri- Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM), to enhance critical-care capacity
He said that apart from filling existing vacancies, new posts will also be created simultaneously. He said that doctors’ associations had raised concerns when the government decided to introduce round-the-clock specialty services in district and general hospitals but that their concerns had been resolved through discussions.
He said that all steps were being taken to ensure the proper availability of medicines in government hospitals and that the government was committed to the upgradation of public sector hospitals, which continued to be the main recourse for ordinary citizens for healthcare.
The new critical care block spanning 36,000 sq.ft. across three floors, is being built to ensure emergency specialist treatment for critically ill patients, with the design allowing for two additional floors in the future.
HLL Lifecare Limited is in charge of the project, which is expected to be completed within 18 months
The ground floor will house casualty, the maternity ward, labour-delivery-recovery units, X-ray, ultrasound scanning, and a minor operation theatre. The first floor will have a dialysis unit, isolation rooms, and various wards, while the second floor will include facilities for critical care and surgical services such as the intensive care unit, high dependency unit, and an operation theatre complex.
Administrative sanction of ₹20.97 crore has been given to HLL for construction and related services, and ₹2.78 crore to the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited for setting up the medical gas pipeline system, modular operation theatre furnishing, and installation of necessary medical equipment.
The Principal Secretary (Health), Sharmila Mary Joseph, Director of Medical Education K.V. Vishwanathan, Arogya Keralam Mission Director Renu Raj and senior MCH administrators were present.
Meanwhile, public health activists have warned that creating modern facilities with no thought for the critical human resource required to run such facilities could lead to the creation of more idling resources.
In an FB post, public health activist B. Ekbal, said that the Health department should take the lead to get funds allocated in the State budget for creating human resources and for the operational expenses of the modern critical care facility
