₹75 cr. OPD complex to bring all services under one roof
The Hindu
MMCRI's OPD Complex at K.R. Hospital to decongest services, benefitting a large number of patients, approved by Cabinet.
The old special ward block on the K.R. Hospital premises will make way for the OPD Complex – another MMCRI centenary project that got Cabinet nod recently.
The exclusive outpatient complex in the premises of K.R. Hospital – a teaching hospital of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) in Mysuru – in commemoration of the centenary celebrations of one of the oldest medical colleges in India, is expected to benefit a large number of poor patients.
The OPD complex was one of the proposals submitted by the MMCRI as part of ‘centenary projects’. The college was established by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. As part of its 100th anniversary, the institute has been organising various activities, besides improving infrastructure as the previous government had allocated funds for restoring the hospital buildings.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in February this year, had announced an allocation of ₹75 crore in his Budget towards establishing a building in which the outpatient services of all departments will be housed. It was proposed to decongest the K.R. Hospitals with the OPD services coming under one roof, and the space where the OP services were operated can be utilised for other facilities.
According to sources, K.R. Hospital handles over 9 lakh outpatients annually, perhaps the highest by a State-run hospital in Karnataka. On average, 6 lakh in-patients avail treatment annually in the hospital. Together, the MMCRI’s hospitals, including Cheluvamba and PKKTB, handle nearly 13.25 lakh patients. The patient load has eased to some extent with Mysuru getting a district hospital. On some days, the daily out-patient numbers cross 2,500. K.R. Hospital has 1,200 beds while Cheluvamba has 420, and PKTB has 370 beds.
MMCRI Dean and director K.R. Dakshayani said the project will benefit in decongesting the OPD services and bringing all the services under one roof. “The old special ward block in K R Hospital premises has been identified for the proposed facility,” she said, adding that this was one of the key centenary proposals submitted to the government.
Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has sought a report from the State government on a complaint that the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) had taken up works amounting to ₹387 crore in violation of rules in Varuna and Srirangapatna Assembly constituencies, allegedly on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s oral instructions.
“We are organising a health research convention, which comprises a couple of workshops, community-based learning, and also cardiac care. We also included a one-day seminar on medical education, how medical education has evolved in India and the U.K., and what we can learn from each other” said Dr. Piruthivi Sukumar Dean of the International Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Leeds during his interaction with The Hindu.