The Kerala government is planning to upgrade the Covid hospital set up by Tata Group at Kasargod as a specialty hospital for endosulfan victims and weaker sections of the district.
Amidst concerns of the people of Kasargod that the hospital is being shut down in view of fall in Covid-19 cases, Kerala Health Minister Veena George said in the Assembly on Tuesday that the government was looking into the option of upgrading the facility as a specialty hospital for endosulfan victims and weaker sections.
"The existing container structures are not good in the long run. Hence it has to be replaced with new buildings. A proposal to set up a 50 bed critical care facility was also under consideration, she said in reply to a submission of Uduma MLA C H Kunhambu.
The redeployment of staff from the Tata hospital to other hospitals in the district triggered concerns that the hospital is being shut down.
Kasargod district has been lamenting over poor health infrastructure. A large number of people, including endosulfan victims, are depending on hospitals in neighbouring Mangaluru. The district health authorities struggled to handle a spurt in Covid cases in 2020, and hence Tata set up the hospital using containers on a war footing at Chemmanad near Kasargod town. But now there are no Covid patients and hence the staff are being deployed to other hospitals in the district. The state government created 191 posts for the facility.
At present a block of the hospital is being used as a rehabilitation and day care facility as part of the district mental health programmes. As many as 28 patients are using it.
The Tata hospital could accommodate over 500 patients. So far 4,987 Covid patients were treated at the facility. Tata group had set up the facility by spending around Rs 60 crore under the corporate social responsibility scheme in 2020. Then Health Minister K K Shailaja had said that the hospital would initially function as Covid hospital would be later converted as a normal hospital for all types of diseases.