Second medical college in Thiruvananthapuram; New medical college in Haripad, 'Reach Kerala' Project for health tourism

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The maiden budged presented by V D Satheesan government made a big announcement in the health sector, including a second medical college in Thiruvananthapuram. Chief Minister V D Satheesan announced that Rs 2076.02 crore will be allocated for medical services and the public health sector. He also explained in his budget speech that the government will intervene to reduce the rising expenses of health care in Kerala.

‘The condition of Kasaragod, Idukki, Wayanad and Manjeri medical colleges still remains pathetic. Steps will be taken to improve the infrastructure, staff and equipment in these places. The second medical college in Thiruvananthapuram will be made functional. A new medical college will be established in Haripad. The government will allocate Rs 100 crore for all this,' informed the chief minister.

A project called 'Reach Kerala' will be launched to make Kerala a destination for health tourism. As part of this, steps will be taken to provide better health services by coordinating the activities of Health, AYUSH, Tourism and other related departments. The government will provide autonomous status to selected medical colleges and provide them with the necessary support to achieve AIIMS-level services and academic excellence.

'Golden Hour Project' will be implemented by ensuring better coordination between health institutions and providing a digitalized system to provide emergency trauma treatment in the shortest possible time. Services will be created to further strengthen coordination between the health department and the medical education department to effectively prevent and combat infectious diseases. The chief minister announced in the budget that a scheme will be launched to provide financial assistance to detect and prevent diseases before they occur and to conduct health check-ups once a year for those above the age of 40 to reduce the cost of treatment.