Three MCHs to be upgraded.

Seeking cooperation to bridge the trust deficient between the Centre and State, Union Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda has said that the medical college hospitals (MCH) in Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, and Alappuzha will be upgraded to super-specialty hospitals.

At a meet-the-press organised by the Calicut Press Club recently, he said the Centre would allot Rs.150 crore while the share of the State government would be Rs.120 crore. This was part of a project to convert existing district hospitals to medical colleges in the country, he said. The Minister said the Centre already released Rs.25 crore for a tertiary cancer centre in Kozhikode and another Rs.17 crore for trauma care facilities at Alappuzha, Ernakulam, and Kannur. Mr. Nadda said the Centre would give priority to set up an AIIMS in the State. Decision had been taken to establish 11 AIIMS in different parts of the country.

However, he urged the State government to utilise the Centre's schemes such as providing free dialysis to renal patients in the BPL (below the poverty line) category. A sum of Rs.900 crore had been set aside for the scheme this year. The APL (above the poverty line) category would also get the benefits at reduced cost, he said.


THE HINDU