CM flags high cost of treatment in private hospitals in Kerala

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has flagged the exorbitantly high cost of medical treatment in private hospitals in the State.

He was here on Saturday (February 7) to lay the foundation stone for the Kerala Institute of Organ and Tissue Transplant on the campus of the Government Dermatology Hospital, Chevayur.

Mr. Vijayan said the cost of medical treatment varied from one private hospital to another. This was revealed while examining applications for financial help under the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. For the same surgery, some of them were charging different rates. Mr. Vijayan said a majority of private hospitals, except one hospital in Kozhikode and another in Ernakulam, were found to have been charging very high rates.

He said the proposal to set up an exclusive hospital for organ transplant was taken up in view of the high cost of these surgeries, which was beyond the capacity of ordinary families. Mr. Vijayan expressed hope that the work on the hospital could be completed within a time frame.

Health Minister Veena George, who presided over the event, said the organ transplant institute was the first of its kind in the country. Once the hospital starts functioning, the cost of organ transplant surgeries is expected to come down considerably. Along with this, drugs will also be made available at cheaper rates for those who have undergone the surgeries, she said.

According to official sources, the project will be implemented in two phases, and the estimated cost for the first phase will be ₹299 crore. The funds are being sourced from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). In the first phase, a 350-bed facility with an intensive care unit, dialysis centre, high dependency unit, and 10 operation theatres will be set up. The institute will have 14 speciality departments and divisions. It will also function as a training and research centre for doctors and paramedical staff in the transplant sector. There is a plan to launch 31 academic courses, too.

Minister for Public Works and Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas, M.K. Raghavan, MP, Thottathil Raveendran, MLA, and Kozhikode Mayor O. Sadasivan, among others, were present.