KMC proposes to develop DK district government hospital

 The KMC, Mangaluru, has proposed to carry out the infrastructure development of the Government Wenlock Hospital in a public-private partnership (PPP ) at a cost of Rs 50 crore-100 crore.

The proposal was made at a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim at the officer’s court hall in Mangaluru on Monday.

KMC Mangaluru Dean Dr M Venkataraya Prabhu said that the KMC has provided 395 staff including security staff, technical staff and laboratory technicians to Wenlock Hospital, under the PPP model.

Making a presentation on the occasion, KMC Department of Pulmonary Medicine Associate Dean and Professor Dr Anand R said that infrastructure development is the need of the hour at the Wenlock Hospital. Improvement is needed especially in major sections such as jail ward, psychiatry ward and orthopaedic wards, he noted.

“A proposal towards the construction, renovation and construction of a new building at a total cost Rs 50 crore to Rs 100 crore was submitted on the occasion. The proposal includes addition of surgery and emergency wards, 10 operation theatres, surgical ICU, construction of new building consisting of basement, ground, first, second and third floor. The development work may take around five years for completion,” he said.

The deputy commissioner suggested reserving a two-level parking space and also to increase the space in wards to accommodate more patients. He also told the KMC representatives to come up with an elaborate plan by next week. Man power and maintenance have to be stressed upon, he said.

District Surgeon Dr Rajeshwari Devi H R said that the 167-year-old Wenlock Hospital is catering to the needs of patients from not only from Dakshina Kannada district but also from Dharwad, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts. “As many as 30,000 inpatients and 3,000 outpatients are admitted each year. Even patients from Bengaluru are referred for super-speciality sometimes. No new staff is being recruited since the last 60 years,” she listed out.

She further said that every year 6,000 students make use of clinical services at the hospital, under the clinical attachment with private institutions.

The deputy commissioner told the district surgeon to write to the institutions to provide nursing staff for a bond period of one year.

Dr Rajeshwari Devi said that a shortage of Rs four crore approximately is incurred by the hospital each year and this is covered by Arogya Raksha Samiti through the collection of clinical fee and user charges.

District Health Officer Dr Ramakrishna and KMC Hospital, Mangaluru, Associate Dean (Research and Administration) Dr M Chakrapani were present among others.